Shattered Soul
by shippoman
Summary: A sequel to Changing Winds. Yukiko's back, but after 107 years of being trapped by Aizen she's not the same. Now she must try to recover what she's lost before the war in Winter. Rated for sexual content and torture just to be safe. OCxKensei.
1. Chapter 1

Shippoman: The moment you've been waiting for has finally arrived. Sorry about not getting it up until now, but I wanted to have enough chapter completed before I pushed on so I can have a kind of buffer in case I get writers block again. As a warning and a reminder, this is a sequel to Changing Winds. It picks up the story near the end of the invasion of soul society just so you aren't too confused when it starts. Also, the rating for this one is higher just in case. Yukiko went through a lot and frankly a T rating probably won't cut it...well it might but I don't want to take any chances.

Also I want to remind everyone I don't own bleach or any of it's characters...just the ones I came up with in this. So without further ado...

* * *

 _ **Shattered Soul**_

 **Chapter 1:**

"Okay then, Ichigo, are you ready to get started on your Bankai training?" A dark woman with long purple hair and feline features was standing in a wooden structure staring at an orange haired teen with a large smirk.

He returned her smirk with one of his own and tightened the tie around his waist. "You bet I'm ready, Youruichi," he declared firmly. "What do I have to do?"

"Follow me," she answered. Then she lifted a floorboard and jumped down to a very large space that stretched as far as the eye could see. The entire room appeared to be nothing but rock, like a cave or something.

"Ichigo looked around the area and was surprised to realize it looked familiar to him, though he couldn't put his finger on why. He couldn't think of anywhere else he'd have seen it in the human world and was sure he'd never seen it in the soul society; since he'd only arrived a week or so ago. Him and his three companions, Orihime, Ishida, and Chad. They'd picked up one other along the way, a guy by the name of Ganju Shiba. His sister had assisted in their entry into the Seireitei, the home of the Gotei 13. The very group preparing to execute his friend, Rukia Kuchiki.

"I know you haven't completely recovered yet, but we don't have a lot of time to wait for you to finish," Youruichi pointed out as she stood before him with what looked like a cardboard cutout shaped like a person. "This is a special method of Bankai training that'll take three full days to complete. All you have to do to get started, is stab this figure with your zanpakto."

Ichigo understood why she said what she said. He had only just woken up after having fought with Zaraki Kenpachi followed by Byakuya Kuchiki. He'd somehow won the first fight, but he didn't have the chance to finish the second. Youruichi had interrupted that one and taken him here to train. That was less than 12 hours before now.

"So, do you have any questions before we begin?" she asked curiously.

He was about to respond, but something caught the corner of his eye and he looked to a point behind the female before him. At the corner of a large rock formation, he could make out a girl with long dark red hair that reached her waist. She was wearing a shihakusho like the other soul reapers, but her dark green eyes looked completely dead.

"Just one," he lifted his hand and pointed to the strange female. "Who's that?"

Youruichi turned to see who he was pointing at and her grin faded considerably. "Don't worry about that right now. All you need to know is that she won't interfere with your training," she responded with almost no inflection.

"Actually, I'm more worried about her accidentally getting caught up in it," he commented.

"Fine, I'll be right back."

He watched her zip over to the girl and murmured a few things in an undertone. At first, nothing seemed to have gotten through to her, but then she slowly began to move and disappeared from view. Moments later, Youruichi returned to where she'd been before, having already grabbed the cardboard figure once more.

"Alright, she's no longer there," she murmured and Ichigo could see the smallest signs of pain in her eyes. "Now, are there any more questions?"

In answer, Ichigo drew his sword, shot forward, and ran Zangetsu into the obejct's chest, his smirk returned in full force. "Let's just get this started."

He noticed Youruichi's approving grin before his attention was diverted to the cardboard cutout. To his surprise, there was a puff of smoke in which his sword vanished; and in its place stood the old man he was very familiar with. Zangetsu. His Bankai training had begun.

* * *

After hours and hours of training, Ichigo felt like he was beginning to reach his limit. The training set up by his zankapto required him to use different blades scattered about the training area that represented some part of his heart. He was supposed to find the one blade that represented his combative strength in order to win. He'd gone through twenty different ones by now and not one did the trick.

He was about to grab yet another one when Zangetsu suddenly vanished before him and he looked around trying to find him. "Youruichi, what's going on?" he demanded when he spotted the dark woman heading his way.

"The first day is over Ichigo. You should probably take this chance to rest and relax," Youruichi responded easily. "There's a hot spring a little ways in. Feel free to take a dip, it should help you recover."

Ichigo grudgingly agreed and followed her directions toward the spring. As he drew closer, he found a bar/table carrying several towels. "Good, I'll need one," he thought, stripping and slipping one around his waist.

Then he made his way to the spring, just wanting to slip into the hot water to ease his aches and pains; and wash the blood off of himself. As the spring came into sight, he spotted something that made him freeze in his tracks, the towel being the only thing he was wearing. It was the girl, the same girl from before standing in the water with her front pressed firmly against the side shielding her from view.

As he stood there, his surprise and confusion keeping him in place, her dead eyes moved over and focused on him. Those eyes that held almost nothing and seemed to register nothing. Then he watched as they slowly seemed to clear, clear and actually see him. She blinked a few times before a shout of surprise tore from her throat and she ducked beneath the water.

Ichigo shouted as well and quickly turned around facing the opposite direction. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea you were in there!"

"You could have at least called out!" she shouted back. He could hear her climb out of the water and the rustle of clothes behind him. He made sure not to turn around for fear of what she'd do if he actually saw anything. "Actually it was somewhat my fault. I didn't realize I'd been in there for so long. I should have been out before you finished." She seemed to have calmed down quite a bit and her voice was taking on a more mellow and almost monotone quality to it.

"Right." Ichigo didn't really know what else to say. He had no idea who this strange girl was or where she came from. Her shihakusho told him she had to be a soul reaper of some sort but other than that there was nothing for him to go off of. "So, who are you?" he asked curiously.

"Is that really what you ask a girl you peeped on in the bath?" she returned. He thought he detected the slightest hint of tease in her voice, but that quickly vanished. "I don't make a habit of introducing myself to strangers." He wanted to turn around and tell her it wasn't like he was dangerous or anything but thought better of it. "You can turn around now, I'm decent at least."

He slowly did so and saw she was right. That was fast, he'd never seen any females change as quickly as she seemed to. "Sorry about walking in on you, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki," he told her holding out a hand in greeting.

"Ichigo...I see, so you're the human Youruichi told me about," she murmured softly. Her eyes were showing a lot of pain and sorrow as she mentioned the cat woman. "In that case...call me Ume. That's all you need to know." With that she turned and disappeared leaving Ichigo completely stunned.

"That was weird," he thought not sure what to make of the strange soul reaper. Either way with her gone that meant he had the spring to himself.

He jumped to the top of the giant rock next to it and went down the water slide landing in the spring with a loud splash. Right away he noticed his body repairing itself, even healing a small cut he had on his cheek in seconds. He was so stunned by the effects that he tried drinking it, thinking it'd do even more.

"Ichigo, how's the water?" he heard Youruichi call out. He answered with a wave and a few noises as his mouth was still full of the water. "Really, then I guess I'll try it myself." He spat the water out and shouted as he realized Youruichi was stripping and going to climb inside.

When he heard the splash and peeked through his shielding fingers he was almost disappointed to see she'd transformed back into a cat. Youruichi teased him a bit before their conversation steered toward her and Urahara's origin. She explained a little, telling him the two of them had known each other for a very long time and that he'd been the captain of squad 12 once upon a time. By this point she'd transformed back into a woman and he almost drowned trying to keep from seeing her naked form; which she laughed at.

Once that was through, they fell into an almost comfortable silence before a familiar question came up again. "Say, Youruichi, what can you tell me about Ume?" he asked hoping she wouldn't redirect him again. "Who is she really? Where'd she come from?"

Youruichi took a deep breath and thought it over. "I can't tell you everything, it's not my story to tell," she explained. "But suffice it to say that you saved her."

"What? I've never seen her before," Ichigo argued completely confused.

"Ichigo, she was sealed, inside a prison that could not be found," she explained. "Her prison happened to be in one of the buildings you and Kenpachi obliterated during your battle. When your energies clashed, the power from both was enough to shatter it, freeing her."

 ***Flashback***

 _"I felt her energy the instant she was freed and followed it," Youruichi explained. "When I found her...she was not all there."_

Youruichi paused near a hole in the wall, her tail flicking back and forth as she looked inside and found a figure wearing black robes kneeling on the floor with her head in her hands. She was muttering something unintelligible under her breath.

"Yukiko," she murmured, in her deeper cat voice. There was no response. Believing the girl may not recognize her, she morphed back into her human form and reached up to the girl's cheek. "Yukiko, can you hear me?"

This time, the girl jerked away from her touch and tightened her hold on her head muttering faster as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Yukiko!" This time Youruichi almost shouted her name, trying to get the girl to look at her without any luck. After she continued to mutter in fear, the dark toned woman took a deep breath and tried something else. "Ume?"

This time, the girl froze and slowly lowered her hands from her head. She looked up at Youruichi with eyes filled with fear and nothing else. Her eyes were dead. "Youruichi?" she mumbled, only barely seeming to register the woman's presence.

"Yes, it's me," she murmured softly wrapping her arms around the younger soul reaper. "Ume, remember the place we used to train?" The girl slowly nodded her head. "I want you to mask your reiatsu and go. I'll meet you there after I take care of a few things. I'd rather you not be found by him."

Her eyes widened at this and she started muttering again and almost relapsed into her little ball. Youruichi managed to keep her from snapping and to promise to go where she asked. She waited until the girl disappeared before heading toward the end of the battle. She would need to get there quickly and retrieve Ichigo before any of the squads located him.

 _"It was as if she was hanging onto her sanity, her life, as best as she could, but was losing the battle. Until I used the name she'd always hated, she wouldn't respond. As far as I could see, the girl I knew and cared for was gone. Long gone."_

 ***End Flashback***

"So, you're saying she was set free because our reiatsus were rubbing against each other?" Ichigo asked worriedly. "Why was she sealed? Was it on purpose? Is it really a good thing that I let her out?"

Youruichi glared at him for a moment before sighing. "Yes it was intentional, but not because of anything she'd done," Youruichi explained. "The person who trapped her did so for nefarious reasons. When you freed her, you truly saved her. I only wish I'd been able to do so myself years ago."

After that, they lapsed into silence and Ichigo reluctantly left his questions at that. Whatever had happened, was obviously not a topic to be breached, especially not at the moment. Well, at any rate, it was back to training. He only had two days left to learn his bankai, and he was not going to fail Rukia.

* * *

Shippoman: There you go, chapter 1 all done and posted. Hope you all enjoyed it and are looking forward to the rest. I will try to get the chapters out every other week just to give myself a little extra time. Anyway...next chapter someone else learns about Ume's existence and the three traitors make their exit. Stay tuned and please remember to RR.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

As the sun began to rise, one soul reaper found the strength necessary to leave the barred cell he was in, with sword in hand. He was running out of time and knew the only way he was going to succeed would be to finish his training. He no longer cared what the Ryoka were doing, he just knew he needed to save his friend.

He quickly left the squad 6 prisons where he was being held and made his way through the seireitei. It was easy moving about as everyone else was completely focused on two things; the Ryoka, and whoever it was that had killed the captain of squad 5. As important as he knew they were, they were all trivial matters to him.

By mid-day he made it to an area he'd discovered that one could easily train in without being disturbed and wasn't too surprised to find a familiar reiatsu pouring from it. "Heh, I figured you'd be here, Ichigo," he muttered to himself before going inside.

As soon as he landed at the bottom of the ladder to the enclosed area he was able to make out Ichigo who was fighting with a large man with long black hair, and a woman with purple hair he couldn't identify. He easily called out in greeting to the carrot top, his own bright red hair waving in the wind brought on by his landing and Ichigo's booming reiatsu.

"Don't worry, I won't interfere with your bankai training," he explained lifting his Zabimaru over his shoulder. "I'm close to reaching the bankai release myself." As he spoke, a large baboon with a snake for a tail appeared behind him, standing as tall as the man himself. He smirked at the shocked look on the ryoka's face, and turned away from them to reach a more open area.

When he was far enough away, he spotted something else. Something he had not been expecting to see. A lone female with waist length blood red hair, dark green eyes, and a shihakusho from the 5th squad. She had her sword out and was going through the basic drills he'd learned from his academy days. The strangest part to him, however, was the fact that despite the amount of time he'd spent with squad 5 he did not recognize her. Nor did he ever remember seeing her at the academy. So then, where'd she come from?

"Hey, you!" he called out, catching the girl's attention.

She paused in her swings to look at him with eyes that looked dead for only a moment, before clearing up. "Do you need something?" she asked slowly. After a moment she seemed to realize he was accompanied by his zanpakto spirit as she sheathed her sword and began to walk away.

"Hold on!" he ordered jumping in front of her. "Just who are you? What's a member of squad 5 doing out here?"

"It's hardly any of your business," she returned coldly. "Besides, I don't answer just anyone's questions."

"Tch, I'm the Lieutenant of squad 6, Renji Abarai," he told her pointing at himself. "Now answer my question."

She let loose a small puff of air, signaling her amusement, though a smile never crossed her face. "You can call me Ume, Lieutenant," she answered easily. "As for the rest...try asking your captain. He might know." With that she vanished, having shunpoed away from him faster than even his captain could move.

Renji was stunned by what he saw, and by the girl's response to him. What'd she mean his captain would know? His questions were quickly doused as Zabimaru smacked the back of his head drawing his attention once more. It was time to get back to training. He only had so much time before Rukia was executed and he couldn't waste any of it on trivial things. No matter what, this time, he had to save her.

* * *

Less than a day after the three soul reapers appeared in the training area, they all left one after the other. First Renji, who sought to defeat his captain in order to rescue his childhood friend; then Ichigo, who managed to complete his Bankai at the last moment; and finally Youruichi, who turned to the girl left behind before leaving herself.

"Yukiko, I want you to stay here until this is over," she murmured worriedly. "However, I won't stop you from going out if that's what you want. Just promise me that if you do you'll keep your reiatsu hidden with a kido and do not engage Aizen."

Yukiko looked up at her, her eyes clearer than they had been the day before and nodded slowly. "I promise," she murmured softly. "I don't think I can face them yet anyway."

"Good. Stay safe." With that, the ex-soul reaper took off, leaving the younger female alone in the vast space.

"Stay safe...yeah I'll do my best," Yukiko muttered running a hand through her long dark locks. "But, I won't stay here. I can feel fights beginning to swell all over the seireitei. I have to see it...I have to see what has become of the seireitei...what's become of my home."

She ignored the warnings coming from her blade as she took off out the exit and turned toward the sokyoku hill. She could feel the majority of the strong reiatsus located there...so, that is where she decided to go. To see for herself what she failed to stop.

* * *

"Renji, leave Rukia where she is and back away."

Renji couldn't believe what he was hearing, or what he'd just finished listening to as the lieutenant of squad 4's voice disappeared from his mind. Captain Aizen, one of the captains he'd looked up to for so long, had really just done all that. Him and his two companions, Captain Ichimaru and Captain Tousen, had killed all of the Central 46 members, severely injured Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hinamori, and plotted to have Rukia killed by the Sokyuku as well as faking his own death. To make matters worse, now he was standing before the three captains in question, being told to release the friend he'd risked everything to save and walk away. He just...couldn't believe it.

"I'll say it again, Renji. Leave Rukia where she is and back away."

Renji grit his teeth as he tightened his hold on Rukia and brandished his sword. "I don't know why you want Rukia, but there's no way in hell I'm handing her over to you," he declared.

"I see, have it your way then." Renji watched as Aizen kept Gin from attacking, then approached him drawing his own sword. "I'll keep your feelings in mind. She can stay in your arms, but the rest of you must leave."

Renji realized a moment too late what he was talking about and jumped backward only just avoiding having his arms removed. It wasn't too bad as he then proceeded to release his blade and direct his attacks at the captain before him. The first few blows were blocked by the man's sword, but on the final swing, he simply caught Zabimaru's blade before destroying it and slicing into Renji once more. This time the blow was severe enough that he collapsed to one knee, struggling to keep Rukia held in his other arm.

At that time, Rukia began struggling against his hold telling him to leave her and get away as well as telling the traitor Aizen that she'd be willing to go with him if he spared her friend's life. Like he was going to allow her to do that.

It didn't matter too much as moments later Aizen appeared in front of him and brought his sword down toward the redhead's head. Renji was frozen in time, not even able to close his own eyes as the deadly blade came closer and closer, until its descent was suddenly stopped.

"What's the matter Renji? It looks to me as if Rukia's become too heavy for you." To his surprise, he found Ichigo standing above him with his bankai released and blocking Aizen's blade.

"Well I was going to say thank you but now you can forget it!" Renji retorted as his grip tightened on Rukia who seemed to be struggling in his grasp, though his distracted brain didn't register it. "Frankly I didn't need your help!"

They went back and forth a few times with Ichigo throwing out a taunting face before the struggling girl finally got their attention and she pulled herself out of his loosening grip. Then she proceeded to drive her fist into his chin before yelling at him. "What were you thinking; that I was going for the world record in holding my breath? You could have killed me you idiot!"

Renji tried to reassure her that wasn't the case, but his attention was quickly snagged by the Ryoka beside him. "So, this is Aizen huh?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"Do you think you can fight, or at least run away?" Ichigo asked him.

Renji scoffed. "I've got enough left to stand here and fight," he answered tightening his hold on his sword. "Besides, you know as well as I that there's no running away from that guy." Ichigo nodded his agreement as the redheaded lieutenant directed what was left of his blade toward the traitorous captain."I've still got one attack up my sleeve. If it hits, it should give you an opening, but you have to strike while its there."

"Got it," Ichigo responded, preparing his own weapon.

Renji called out to his sword one more time, causing the blade pieces lying around to fly through the air, surround Aizen, then plunge toward him as fast as they could. In that instant, Ichigo rushed forward using the increased speed of his bankai to reach Aizen in the blink of an eye and swing his sword...only to have it caught by the man's finger.

Next thing Renji knew, was that Ichigo had been sliced through the middle and was left to fall to the ground. He vaguely heard Aizen mention that the Ryoka should have been cut in half but wasn't, before having the man stand before him and cut through his body once more. He collapsed to the ground, being unable to move and drifting in and out of consciousness as Aizen took hold of Rukia and began monologueing about his plan. He couldn't really understand what was being said as his vision swam between being able to see the man doing something to his friend, and complete darkness.

The last thing his conscious mind was aware of, was that somehow Byakuya had arrived and saved Rukia from a long sword. Then, he saw the two getting swallowed up by what appeared to be a tornado. His last thought was him wondering where the strange wind came from, and pleaded with the powers that be that it was a sign someone had arrived to help.

"Just please...save Rukia," he pleaded, before everything went black.

* * *

At the same time, all eyes had turned toward the sudden wind and the three captains were all showing varying levels of tension. Aizen was frowning while gripping his sword, Gin was sliding slowly into a fighting stance, and Tousen had jumped between the wind and Aizen with his sword fully brandished.

Ichigo was staring at what was before him in utter confusion. What could have possibly spooked them that much? Especially since the leader had blocked his bankai with nothing but his finger. Something about the reiatsu did seem a bit familiar though.

On the other side of the wind vortex, Byakuya was standing with Rukia in his arms staring at the wind that blocked the others from view. The two siblings were in shock and neither spoke a word, though Byakuya found himself relaxing even as a soul reaper appeared between them and the vortex.

"Who are you?" Rukia murmured, unable to think of anything else to say. She didn't recognize the woman before her after all and was confused as to why she would help them.

Byakuya, on the other hand, was relaxing his tense muscles and an almost imperceptible smile appeared on his lips. He didn't say a word to the new arrival, or to his sister who was trying to help him remain standing.

The near wordless silence amongst the three was suddenly broken when the woman before them turned. Her dark green eyes settled on Byakuya who was able to see the pain, sorrow, and determination that shown there. "Just keep your sister safe," she murmured barely loud enough to be heard over the winds around them. "I will not allow him to do any more."

Byakuya just nodded, having no strength to do anything else. Then to the astonishment of everyone present and awake, she caused the vortex to dissipate and faced the three captains.

Her eyes made contact with each one of them, causing the two subordinates to tense where they stood before she strode toward them. Tousen was the first to react, jumping toward her with his sword drawn and whistling through the air. She didn't flinch at this and simply raised her hand stopping his progress with nothing more than a thin layer of wind. Then Gin called for his blade to shoot across the gap between them which she stopped with another thin sheet of wind.

As the two captains struggled, trying to push their way past her defenses, she paused and met Aizen's eyes. "I can't take this anymore," she murmured, her hands shaking at her sides in anger. "I won't allow you to take anyone else away from me...I won't allow you to do any more damage to the Seireitei. No more...no MORE...NO MORE! Aizen!"

With a shout, she shot forward, pushing the two attacking captains in opposite directions and throwing a punch at Aizen's head. To any onlookers it would have been obvious that she'd missed, but moments later, the image of Aizen faded to reveal her fist planted in the center of his palm. She pulled her hand back quickly and followed up her first strike with a series of punches and kicks that he was able to block.

At the end of her tirade, a single kick managed to slide past his defenses and land squarely on his chest, knocking him back a few feet. She panted a bit from the exertion and prepared to rush him again. She understood two things with this fight: she didn't have to win, and she needed to keep the three of them occupied long enough for reinforcements to arrive. These two things she was confident she could do. This and nothing more.

She was able to land a few more blows before a satisfied smirk made its way onto his features. After that, he caught hold of one of her hands and spoke before the other could fly. "Yukiko, does this attack mean you wish to receive more punishment?"

The last word left his lips just as her fist was thrown, which she halted mere inches away from his smug expression. She seemed frozen in time to the onlookers, until her entire body began to shake uncontrollably. In her frozen state, she did nothing to stop his free hand, from taking her chin and directing her gaze towards his own.

"You didn't answer me, Yukiko."

Her eyes widened and both hands went lax as the tremors only seemed to increase. "I-I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry, Sousuke," she stuttered, lowering her eyes from his face. "P-please...no more."

He gave her a look that only increased her shivers as he released his hold and she collapsed to her knees still muttering her apologies; as if saying them more would increase her chances of walking away unscathed. "If you do not move a muscle from where you are, I'll consider it," he stated coldly.

Her only response was more tearful mutterings of barely coherent apologies. He moved away from her at this point and she did nothing to stop him. Instead, she continued to stare at the ground, tears pouring down her cheeks as she continued muttering under her breath.

Ichigo was stunned to see this person, who was able to hold off two captains and attack another at the same time, crumble into pieces. He could barely make out her eyes from where he lay and noticed they'd returned to the dead look he'd seen before. If someone as strong as her couldn't defeat this captain...then who could?

While Ichigo was distracted by the confusing sight of the distraught soul reaper, Gin and Tousen rejoined Aizen who was approaching the Kuchiki siblings again. Before he drew too close, however, a shout from above alerted him to two new arrivals. Kukaku Shiba, the fireworks expert, and Jidanbo, the guardian of the west rukon gate.

Aizen's attention was drawn to them long enough for Youruichi and Soi Fon to appear with their weapons trained on him, trapping him with his sword forcefully sheathed. At the same time, Gin was restrained by a beautiful orange haired lieutenant with breasts that looked like they would fall out of her uniform at any moment and Tousen was stopped by the blade of a dark haired soul reaper with a sleeveless shihakusho, three scars down one side of his face, and a sixty-nine on the other cheek.

"It's all over, Aizen," Youruichi declared while holding his sword in place. The remainder of the captains and lieutenants began showing up on the sokyoku hill, not wanting to give the three traitorous captains a chance to escape. Then all at once, the feline-like woman noticed a smirk appear on Aizen's face as she shouted, "Soi Fon, move!"

Just as the pair moved away from Aizen, a beam of yellow light struck him after bursting through a growing tear in the sky. Then, three more lights appeared surrounding Tousen and Gin. The last of the three, Youruichi noticed, was headed right for Yukiko who hadn't seemed to notice the recent arrivals and was still kneeling in the same spot. Luckily, the ex-captain was able to reach her fast enough to avoid the beam.

The instant she was moved, however, Yukiko suddenly came back to life and began squirming in the older woman's grasp. "No!" she shouted struggling to get free. "I can't move from there! Sousuke will punish me again! I don't want any more punishments...no more...I CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER...!"

Yukiko's screams were cut off as Youruichi chopped the back of her neck and knocked her unconscious before laying her on the ground. She stared up at the three captains, rising into the air towards the rip in the sky. Pouring out of it were hundreds of Menos and behind them was what looked like a narrow eye. She heard the captain of squad 7 calling out to Tousen, demanding to understand why the man had changed. Then Ukitake began speaking to Aizen.

Finally, the ex-captain of squad 5 smirked down at the warriors below him. "From the beginning no one has stood at the top," he murmured. Then he reached up, removed his glasses, and slicked his hair back while explaining the continued absence of one stronger than everyone else. "From now on, I alone will stand at the top."

The captains and lieutenants still on Sokyoku Hill watched helplessly as the three captains reached the rip and began disappearing behind the closing pieces of sky.

Before he fully disappeared from view, Aizen smirked before saying one last thing. "Goodbye soul reapers, and goodbye ryoka boy. You proved to be far more interesting than even I believed." Then the sky closed, sealing off the forced space between the soul society and Hueco Mundo. It was finally over...

* * *

Shippoman: Sorry if this chapter was really choppy, but it had to be taken care of. Now that it's over, however, there shouldn't be any more instances where I have to adhere to what is strictly happening in the anime until the final battle with Aizen. So that's a plus...

Anyway, Aizen, Gin and Tousen have fled to Hueco Mundo to finish their plans of creating Arancar and attacking the human world. Meanwhile, all of seireitei will be in the recovery stages for a while. Next chapter, Yukiko's existence is called into question once more and she must explain herself to those who once knew her. Question is, will she be able to in her current state? Stay tuned to find out and remember to R&R.

And a special thanks to all of you who have reviewed the first chapter. It always makes my day go so much better knowing that you like the way it's going and care about what happens to Yukiko. It makes writing this all worth while.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Hurry! Lieutenant Abarai needs immediate surgery. Take him to the squad 4 medical center."

"Yes sir!"

It was controlled chaos on top of the Sokyoku Hill as squad 4 members ran hither and thither checking on the three soul reapers that had been injured by Aizen before his departure. A group of four had lifted the unconscious Renji onto a stretcher and two of them were moving him to squad 4 for better treatment.

At the same time, Captain Komamura was directing the squad 4 members to look at the rest of the injured before himself. He believed firmly that his injuries were nowhere near the same urgency that others had sustained. Then...there was the squad 6 captain...

"How is Captain Kuchiki's condition?" Captain Unohana had stopped one of her squad members in order to determine where their attention should be focused. She could see that he'd sustained severe injuries, most of which appeared to have been received by the Ryoka instead of the traitorous captains.

"It seems to be worsening. He's currently being encased in a level 7 healing kido, though he should probably be transported soon for better treatment," the squad member answered.

Unohana looked over at the captain and could see him lying on the ground surrounded by the glow of kido. His injuries would take time to heal, but only if he remained strong.

"Sir, should we send some people to help the ryoka?" the same squad member asked slowly.

She glanced over at the group of four surrounding the young man with orange hair. She could see the glow of some sort of power surrounding him as well. "No, I believe they have everything under control." She could see the power the girl was using was different...but still possessed the properties needed for healing purposes.

As her eyes moved over the group before her, they momentarily settled on the young woman who's head was resting on Youruichi's knee. The familiar dark red hair and powerful reiatsu signaling the legitimacy of the girl's existence. She made a mental note to run a check over the girl later before heading over to the downed captain and assisting him with a request; the chance to speak with his sister.

Once that was instigated, she joined three captains who were conversing in a corner while observing everyone. "Whew, Aizen sure managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes this time," Shunsui commented taking note of the sheer number of hospitalized soul reapers they had now.

"Yes, it's rather disturbing to see just how far he was thinking ahead," Ukitake agreed. "We may have never figured it out if the Ryoka hadn't come when they did."

"Their presence only served to assist in his plans," Yamamoto cut in. "They were the reason all of the seireitei was in disarray."

"Not necessarily," Shunsui argued. "Remember not everyone was thrilled with the idea of executing Rukia to begin with. Even without them showing up we'd probably have quite a few people trying to stop it. Jushiro and myself for instance."

"You both will still receive punishment for destroying the Sokyoku," Yamamoto declared. "Do not think that I have forgotten your transgression, regardless of the reason behind it."

The two captains sweat a little but didn't argue. They were both very aware of what they'd done and were expecting some sort of punishment in response.

"And what exactly are you three discussing?" The captains glanced outside their little circle to see that Youruichi had approached them.

"It is rather surprising to see you again, Youruichi Shihoin," Shunsui responded. "Not that I'm complaining. The seireitei could always use a few more pretty faces."

"It is good to see you again," Ukitake expressed with a smile. "It's been far too long."

"Yes it has," Youruichi agree. "But seeing how periodic visits weren't a viable option, it's not too surprising, is it?"

"No, I suppose not," Ukitake chuckled knowing exactly what she meant.

Before anything else could be said, the head captain stepped forward and stared at the woman before him. "Youruichi Shihoin, seeing as how you have assisted in the defense of the seireitei against the traitorous entities, I will give you one chance to explain your reasoning for returning before passing judgment."

Shunsui and Ukitake shook their heads, having known he wasn't going to allow the appearance of a previous traitor to go unaddressed. "I suppose you have a point, Head Captain," Youruichi agreed and grinned at him. "I have three reasons actually. First of all, I came to assist Ichigo in rescuing Rukia Kuchiki. Second I planned on finally exposing Aizen for the traitor he's always been. Finally..." She turned and looked over at the still sleeping soul reaper who had curled up into a ball. "I came for her."

"So then, that really is her?" Ukitake asked looking over at said girl as well.

"Yes..." Youruichi's grin faded just a little as she continued to watch her.

"Yoruichi, you said you came for Yukiko. Where exactly was she all this time?" Yamamoto demanded coldly.

Youruichi sighed before looking him right in the eye; or at least she would if his were open. "I don't know all the details," she began easily. "Even if I did I wouldn't give it to you. It's not my tale to tell. Suffice it to say she was imprisoned by Aizen until Ichigo's fight with Zaraki Kenpachi freed her."

"I see," Yamamoto murmured and the other two captains shared a look at the news. "Wake her...she will explain it all herself."

Youruichi glared at him and was about to argue, but someone beat her to the punch. "Head Captain, I believe it would be advisable to move Yukiko to a more relaxing environment before waking her." All of their attention was drawn to the speaker, Captain Retsu Unohana. "I also believe it would be prudent to allow her time to recover before performing any sort of interrogation."

The three younger soul reapers sighed in relief at her interference. Yamamoto, on the other hand, took a moment of silence before responding. "Very well. When she awakens you will assess her mental status and alert me as soon as she is ready to give an explanation. We will then hold a captain's meeting to efficiently allow all captains and lieutenants to know what we're dealing with. Once this information is passed, we will decide what to do with her."

"And once again the poor kid is a potential threat," Shunsui sighed. "I wish I could say we shouldn't consider her one, but considering the amount of time she was with him I really can't."

"If that's everything, then I'll be going," Youruichi murmured. She walked over to the curled up girl and picked her up in her arms. "I'll let you know when she's recovered enough. Until then, don't approach her; she won't be able to handle it."

With that, she shunpoed away, leaving the group to wonder what exactly she meant by the statement as well as what they'd learn once she was able to explain what became of her. At any rate, they knew that once she was capable of speaking before them, they'd be getting more than they bargained for.

* * *

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed as he ran around yet another corner of the squad 4 area trying to lose his tail. Kenpachi Zaraki. Luckily the captain was terrible at sensing reiatsu and ran right past him, swinging his cracked sword all over the place in his excitement. "That guy wants to fight again?" he grumbled to himself. "There's no way I'm ever crossing swords with him again."

He waited until he was sure the captain had moved far enough away before heading back the way he'd come. It'd been three days since the fight with Aizen and he'd healed pretty well, though he hadn't fully recovered just yet. Even if he had he'd still be avoiding the over zealous captain. He had no desire to wind up in recovery a second time after all.

As he walked along the path that would lead back to the rooms that he and his friends had been staying in, he spotted Youruichi exiting one he was about to pass. He realized pretty quickly who's room it had to be and decided he'd visit the poor girl as well. He could still remember her trembling body and fearful tears after she fought Aizen. It'd been really shocking to see someone so powerful, reduced to that pitiful state.

"She's not awake," Youruichi told him the moment he got close enough. "She hasn't moved since the battle with Aizen and still needs her rest. Just wait for now."

"I don't care if she's awake or not," Ichigo responded forcefully. "It's my fault she had to get into that fight in the first place. Had I been stronger I would have beaten Aizen right there." He moved to the door she'd just left and was stopped by the older woman's hand on his shoulder. "I just want to see how she's doing."

She sighed and reluctantly allowed him to open the door to the girl's room. Ichigo stepped inside and looked around, noticing the lack of any sort of decorations in the room before his eyes landed on the redhead lying in the middle of the floor. Or at least she had been lying there. At the moment, she was in a seated position, staring at nothing, with her eyes looking as dead as the day he met her.

"Yukiko, you shouldn't be up," Youruichi called out walking over to the girl and touching her shoulder to push her back down.

At the touch, Yukiko flinched and jerked away, fear filling her dead eyes that were mostly glazed over. She scooted back along the floor until her back hit the wall and clung to her own head, squeezing her eyes shut as if that'd make the bad things go away.

Youruichi sighed at the reaction and looked back at Ichigo. "This might take a little bit," she pointed out. "If you come back later she should be fully cognizant again."

Ichigo frowned but didn't move from where he stood. Instead he lifted his hand in greeting and called out, "How are you feeling, Ume?"

To Youruichi's surprise, the shivering female stopped and slowly uncurled herself from her ball before looking up at the two of them. Her eyes had lost the glazed look and the fear had all but vanished. Relief and mild confusion filled the space left behind as she scanned the two before her.

"Ichigo? Youruichi?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly from days without use. Then she blinked a few times and ran a hand through her hair, rubbing her head as she went. "Where are we?"

"We're in squad 4," Youruichi answered easily. She was pleased to see the girl had regained herself so quickly. "After your fight, I had to knock you unconscious for your own good. You've been out for three days."

"After my fight?" Yukiko mumbled rubbing her head again. She was having troubles piecing together what'd happened that day. "Who'd I fight?"

"Aizen," Ichigo answered. "You took him, Gin, and Tousen on all at the same time. You must be powerful to pull that off."

"Aizen..." Her eyes suddenly shot open and she tried to scramble to her feet. "Bya..."

"He's fine," Youruichi cut her off. She didn't want the girl to stress too much and knew the question would come up fairly quickly.

"Really? That's good." Yukiko sighed and sat back down, leaning her head into her knees. "What happened...after my fight?"

"The three captains escaped to Hueco Mundo," Youruichi explained, shooting a look to Ichigo to keep him from saying anything. She had no idea what would set the girl off.

"Aizen's...in Hueco Mundo? He's probably mad at me," Yukiko mumbled scathingly. As she continued speaking, her voice became more timid and nervous. "I don't want him to be mad at me. Maybe...maybe I should head there too. I don't want to be punished by Sousuke.

"You're not going to be punished, Yukiko," Youruichi cut in quickly. The moment the girl said his first name she knew, she was losing her grip on what was real again. She slowly reached forward in a calming gesture hoping to get through to her. "Just calm down. He can't reach you any longer."

Yukiko jerked away from her friend, leaping to her feet and trying to rush out the door. Before she managed to go anywhere, Youruichi had one arm wrapped around her waist holding her in place while she shouted for release.

"Ume! Just calm down," Youruichi murmured in her ear.

"Let me go...let me go back to him. I don't want to be here...I don't want to be here. Sousuke's mad...he's going to be so mad. No more...Please...no more punishments, Sousuke," Yukiko exclaimed while she struggled against her friend's hold.

"Relax, Ume!" Ichigo yelled startling the girl into stopping and staring up at him. "You don't want to go back to that bastard. You've got plenty of people here that are worried about you. Just let them help already."

The redhead stared at him for a while longer before her body went limp and she returned to the floor panting for air. "Y-you're right...Ichigo. Sorry," she mumbled rubbing her head again. She took a few extra moments to fully calm down before returning to the topic they'd been on before her episode. "So, what happened after...after they left?"

"Well, with them gone everyone has been trying to recover from the fights and repair the damage left behind," Youruichi quickly explained. She was on edge now, waiting for any signs that she was going to lose it again.

"Right...clean up," Yukiko nodded, breathing slowly to remain calm. "Have they said anything about me yet?"

"No decisions have been made yet," Youruichi replied, pleased to see the girl was managing to return to a more natural state. It was amazing to her to know that while her own use of the nickname had gone ignored, Ichigo's had helped...instantly almost. "The Head Captain will be putting a captain's meeting together now that you're awake."

"Right...to hear my report," Yukiko mumbled. "He's going to have me report to all the captains?"

"He believes it will allow the new ones to understand who you are while at the same time alerting the ones you knew what happened the day you disappeared," Youruichi explained. "But, this will only happen if you think you can. You don't have to push anything."

"Thanks..." Yukiko fell into a tense silence after that. She was starting to feel a little better, but knew it wasn't going to last. She noted that Ichigo's presence and usage of her old nickname had really helped her to calm down and get a hold of herself. It was good to know someone could. "How many will be there that I know?"

Youruichi took a moment to run through the current lineup before answering. "The Head Captain, Soi Fon, Retsu Unohana, Kyouraku Shunsui, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, and Jushiro Ukitake. The other leaders are all traitors, too injured to attend, or new. All but three of the Lieutenants will be new for you."

"I see...this isn't going to be easy," Yukiko mumbled worriedly. "Do you think it'd be okay if I had someone come with me? To sort of...you know...be my anchor?"

"That should be fine," Youruichi nodded. "Who'd you have in mind?"

Yukiko went from looking at her old friend, to staring at the teen. "Ichigo...would you be willing to go with me?"

"What?" both Ichigo and Youruichi asked in surprise.

"Going where exactly?" Ichigo demanded. He didn't really understand what was going on, but he wasn't about to agree to anything until he knew what all it entailed.

"Don't worry, it's nothing too bad," Yukiko snorted. "I want you to accompany me to the captain's meeting." He raised an eyebrow at this and she knew she'd have to explain more about what she wanted. "You'll be able to hear who I am and how I got here in the first place, and all you have to do, is say my name."

"Yukiko, he's a human," Youruichi pointed out. "I doubt the head captain will allow him to enter. Anyone from the squads would probably be okay, but he's a different matter."

"I don't care," Yukiko grumbled in disdain. "I need someone I know I can trust...I get that with him. And it's not like he'll be there for the whole meeting. It's just while I explain myself...and I don't think there's anyone else right now who's use of my name will have the same impact."

Youruichi sighed, knowing the girl was right on her assessment but still was unsure. "So all you want me to do is say your name? Why?" Ichigo asked, still not getting it.

"Ichigo...right now I'm having issues speaking...to anyone," Yukiko explained. "Especially about...those three. That name is able to help me remember where I am, but it can only come from someone who's never used my other name. Right now...that person is you." Ichigo nodded finally understanding why she needed his help and he agreed to her request. "So, if during my explanation, you see me start shaking, stuttering, or utilizing Aizen's first name...just say mine and I should be able to get a hold of myself."

"Sure thing. I've been curious about you after all," he muttered. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

Yukiko shook her head. "Keep your mouth shut unless you're using my name," she responded harshly. She took a deep breath and eased her voice. "Other than that, just listen and try to enjoy yourself."

Ichigo and Youruichi shared a look at the voice she'd used to reply with first. After her explanation he waited while Yukiko readied herself for the meeting. Youruichi warned him that he might not be allowed in, and he nodded his understanding. Still, he wanted to know about the girl who was able to fight off three captains, then turn around and become a blubbering mass of terror. What was her story? Why did Aizen seem to have it out for her?

When Yukiko came out of her room, she was in a clean shihakusho with her sword strapped to her waist. She was well aware of the fact that most officers weren't allowed to carry their swords on them in the seireitei, but she felt like she deserved a bit of leeway on that. No matter what, she was not leaving her sword anywhere. Soyokaze was the entire reason she was conscious after all.

The redhead greeted Ichigo and Youruichi with a nod which they returned, then all three of them headed for squad 1...and the eventual captain's meeting.

* * *

Shippoman: It's finally time for the Gotei to learn exactly what became of Yukiko and Ichigo gets a front row seat. Next chapter, learn what she suffered through and see the outcome the captains decide on. Also, get a glimpse of how the new leaders are dealing with her existence. Remember to R&R.


	4. Chapter 4

Shippoman: I decided that since you're all waiting for the time when Yukiko is reunited with Kensei, I'd speed it up a bit by posting every week until that point. So look forward for that.

* * *

Chapter 4:

"Yukiko, Ichigo Kurosaki, enter."

The two in question were standing outside the doors to the meeting area in squad 1. About an hour earlier Youruichi had entered the room and talked to the occupants about the meeting that was currently taking place. Ichigo still didn't fully grasp the situation at hand, but he knew he'd find out eventually. Yukiko was nervous over what the leaders would decide to do with her. She wasn't exactly up for trying to argue her case...and even partially hoped she'd be locked up. At least then no one would be hurt by her.

When the call came for them to enter, Yukiko took a deep calming breath before meeting her companion's eyes. He nodded to her encouragingly and she smiled weakly. Then, she reached forward and pushed the door open, stepping inside.

The moment the pair entered, Ichigo immediately felt out of place, while Yukiko audibly swallowed a few times. Inside stood the captains from each of the 13 squads, not counting the ones that were too injured to appear or had left of their own free will. In other words, squads 3, 6, 9, and 10 were all represented by their lieutenants and squad 5 had its 3rd seat. Other than them, Youruichi stood off to the side of the head captain, who sat at the very top of the room, while the rest stood on either side of the room. Odd numbered on one side and even numbered on the other.

Yukiko swallowed several more times as she stepped farther into the room, forcing herself not to look around. She didn't think she'd be able to keep herself together if she met the gaze of the captains she knew. When she reached the top of the room, she stopped and went down to one knee.

"Yukiko, ex-5th seat of squad 5, reporting in, sir," she greeted formally.

Her greeting caused a few surprised inhales to be heard through the room, the loudest to her being the one that came directly behind her. Ichigo had no idea she held that kind of position, and was even more surprised that she was able to take on captains when she was four ranks beneath them.

"Yukiko. Your disappearance caused an uproar, but your reappearance caused an even greater one," Yamamoto stated loudly. Yukiko had her eyes closed and was working on her deep breathing. "Now, you will explain to those assembled why you vanished and the events that followed leading to you being on Sokyoku Hill."

"Yes sir," Yukiko agreed. She slowly climbed to her feet before opening her eyes and looking directly at the head captain. "But, I need one question answered first. How long...how long was I...gone?"

Yamamoto stared her down for a long moment before answering, his voice echoing in the large room. "107 years."

His answer caused a few people to start in surprise, but none as much as the ex-soul reaper. Her eyes widened, her mouth fell open, her breathing became ragged, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. "107...years," she repeated as her body began to shake. "Th-that long?"

Yamamoto frowned when he saw her falling apart before him. He could see that her mind had been severely damaged in the years of her disappearance. "Now explain!"

She didn't seem to notice his command as her body continued to shake until Ichigo reached forward and touched her shoulder. "Ume, you okay?"

Hearing her name helped her calm her shaking and take a deep breath, banishing the tears and fear. "Yes sir." With that she began her explanation. She told of what led to her mission of inspecting the storehouse; though she refused to mention exactly what her training had been. Then she told them about the ripples she'd seen over the door.

"Ripples? What are these ripples?" Ukitake asked cautiously. He wanted to understand exactly what she was describing.

She explained about her wind ability, taking the extra effort to get their minds in the right frame by explaining about the effect wind had on water, and making sure to mention that Aizen's blade was water based.

"So, those ripples are caused when your reiatsu clashes with his," Shunsui murmured in understanding.

"Basically. This means...that in these moments...I can temporarily see what's beyond the ripple," Yukiko answered. "In other words...I can see through...Sousuke's illusions."

"That's pretty cool, Ume," Ichigo muttered under his breath. He'd been surprised when she said the man's first name, as he'd only heard her use it once...and at that time she'd been screaming about returning to his side. He'd rather not have a repeat.

She took another breath before continuing her explanation. She told them about the storehouse really being a laboratory. She explained what was seen inside, the papers depicting the different hollows they'd created, the tubes containing hollows, and the test tube that held her blood. Then, she mentioned the fight that kept her from leaving. Ichigo had to say her name three times during the explanation of the fight to keep her from folding in on herself.

"The next thing I knew, I was in a space that had nothing but darkness. Aizen's illusion of himself appeared before me and explained that I'd been sealed inside what was more or less a soul candy. I tried to break it using my wind, but failed. I was forced to endure his illusions all day, every day...until Ichigo's fight freed me."

She couldn't say anything else at that point and waited to hear their response; any response. After a short silence, one came. "Your report has been received. You may now leave," Yamamoto told her seriously. "You will wait outside until we have finished."

"Yes, sir," Yukiko mumbled. She bowed respectfully before turning and leaving the room, Ichigo right on her heels.

* * *

Ichigo was irritated as he silently watched Yukiko sitting on the floor with her sword resting on her lap. He'd asked her when she started what she was doing only to learn that it was a meditative form that all soul reapers used to connect with their swords better. He'd decided to try it out sometime, but now was not that time.

It'd been almost an hour since they'd been asked to enter the room and her story had been explained to those present. Admittedly, he felt sorry for the ex-soul reaper. She'd done a lot to help the Gotei 13 and now faced possible imprisonment just because she had a few issues keeping her head on straight. Not like it was her fault.

Still, there were a few things he didn't quite understand, and since they had no idea how much longer the captain's meeting would draw out, he wanted to ask her to find out. "So, Ume, mind answering something for me?" he asked cautiously.

She didn't answer at first and he couldn't tell if she'd even heard him. But then her lips lifted just a little in a pained smile. "Depends on what it is," she told him without opening her eyes. "I will try though."

"Well, inside you said you'd been a 5th seat," he started, scratching his head. "If that's the case, how were you able to take on all three of those captains out there? You seemed too strong to be that low a seat. I mean, aren't 5th seats too weak to take on captains?"

Yukiko chuckled a little and she looked up at the teen before her. "Normally, Ichigo, you'd be right," she told him getting to her feet and leaning against a wall as well. "To be honest, I was only designated a 5th seat because there were no positions higher than that open. That and even though I was strong enough to be a higher seat, I didn't have the experience necessary to handle the responsibility just yet."

"The experience?" Ichigo was confused by this having very little understanding of how the Gotei 13 functioned.

"Yeah...I'd only been a soul reaper for..." she began explaining. Part way through though, she paused and started counting on her fingers. "I started then...that was two years...then..." After a few moments she nodded and gave Ichigo another pained smile. "I was a soul reaper for eight years. That's just a drop in the bucket if you think about it. I was in the academy way longer than that."

"Right...I've heard about the academy here," Ichigo nodded, thinking back on the explanation he'd heard from Renji. "So, because you'd only been a soul reaper for that short amount of time you weren't promoted any higher?"

"Yep...and I fully agree with their assessment," she murmured. "I would have made a terrible lieutenant and an even worse captain."

Ichigo didn't know what to say to that. There was still one last thing he wanted to know about but before he could ask anything else, one of the people who'd been present at the meeting approached them. He was one of the lieutenants standing in for the traitorous captains, though he didn't know the guy's name. He did remember seeing him subdue Tousen though.

"Yukiko, a decision has been reached," he greeted looking over at the ex-soul reaper.

She looked right at him without answering. Instead she just kept staring at him without moving or showing any sign that she'd heard him.

The lieutenant decided to take her looking at him as a sign she was listening and continued. "Youruichi Shihoin is working on finding a place for you to properly recover," he explained easily. "Until then, you will be staying in squad 9."

Again she didn't seem to register anything he was saying. No movement, no change in expression, nothing. Ichigo figured she'd drifted into herself again so he stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ume, you okay?"

She blinked a couple times before looking from him to the lieutenant and back. "Ah, sorry," she muttered, scratching her head in embarrassment. "I spaced for a second. What'd you say?"

"You'll be staying in squad 9 until a more suitable place is found for your recovery," the lieutenant summed up. He sighed, clearly annoyed by her and she nodded in return.

"Squad 9...I understand," she murmured stepping away from the orange haired boy beside her. "Ichigo...thanks for accompanying me here. I don't think I would have been able to finish my explanation without your help."

"Uh...no problem," he mumbled, his cheeks turning slightly red. "Take care of yourself, alright."

Yukiko's lips turned the slightest in a sad smile. "I'll try," she promised. Then she turned and gestured for the lieutenant to lead the way.

* * *

The trek out to squad 9 was torture...or so the lieutenant believed. It wasn't because the girl he was traveling with was loud, obnoxious, or began freaking out like she almost did in the meeting. No, she was extremely silent the entire way. Not a single word left her lips as they moved quickly through the seireitei.

Now normally silence didn't bother him, and to be honest it wasn't the lack of speaking that bothered him. It was the fact that every time he looked over at her, her eyes were focused on him. When she realized he was looking at her, she would blink a few times before turning her attention else where. What in the world was she staring at?

Just as the edge of squad 9 came into view, he glanced back at her and found she was once again looking him over. A curious look adorned her face as her eyes scanned his. By this point he'd caught her staring a dozen times over and was sick of it. He thought he knew what she was looking at too which only made it worse.

Just then, she noticed he'd caught her again and her eyes fell to the floor. Enough was enough for him as he stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms. He was going to get an answer out of her. "Is there a reason you keep staring at me?" he demanded. She looked up at him without a word. "If it's about my scars you can forget about me explaining. It isn't any of your business after all."

Yukiko looked at him like he was stupid. "Your scars? You obviously got those in a fight of some sort," she responded waving away his comment. "Scars aren't exactly an uncommon thing in our line of work after all. Why you have one at all just means you probably bit off more than you could chew at some point."

The lieutenant frowned at this. She wasn't wrong in her assessment, but her tone left much to be desired. Was this really the same panic stricken female who needed someone to accompany her for a report?

"No, what caught my interest is that tatoo of yours," she continued pointing at his face. To his surprise, her scathing expression softened considerably as she continued to look at him. "Why did you get that?"

"You're asking why I have a number tattooed on my face?" he asked trying to understand where her confusion was coming from. She wouldn't have been the first to ask that question. After all, not many people got tattoos that were so noticeable.

"I'm not asking about the reason behind the location," she sighed shaking her head. "I want to know why that number. Why the number 69?"

"That's personal," he answered moving to walk past her. "We should get moving."

She stepped into his path and a teasing expression appeared on her lips. "Personal? Huh, well I guess it would be if you were broadcasting your favorite past time on your cheek. But then again, why not say it loud and proud? Just about anyone would be able to figure out which position your favorite is."

He was confused by her comment at first, but then when she mentioned position his entire face turned red and he recoiled in shock. "Where the hell did that come from?" he demanded. She was really pissing him off now with that knowing and teasing look of hers. What would even give her the idea that's what it meant? "Look the reason I have this number has nothing to do with...preferences... It's a tribute to the first man I ever looked up to, alright!"

"The first man..." Yukiko stared at him for awhile longer after his declaration.

She took in his cheeks reddened from embarrassment. The right one marred by a set of three scars and the left with the number standing out boldly against his pale skin. She stared at the number and an image of another man drifted through her mind causing shivers of fear and want to move through her.

"A tall, muscular man with silver hair," she murmured, her eyes closing as she focused on the image. "He was strong and confident, and had a terrible temper." She chuckled lightly at her own joke. "And...he wore that number..." She reached down and began drawing the number with her finger on her own abdomen. "Right here."

The lieutenant felt the air leave his lungs at her description. It was perfect; exactly what he remembered from his childhood. And it hit him, she'd been around over 100 years ago and he'd met that man around 101 years ago. The only way she could have described him so perfectly would be...if she knew him.

"You...knew him?" he asked, hoping, but not daring to believe it was true.

A sad smile made its way onto her face. "Yeah...he was...he was my first captain and the whole reason I was able to join the Gotei 13," she answered softly.

The dark haired soul reaper couldn't believe his ears. Almost anyone he talked to either never mentioned him, or if the topic was brought up, would never admit they knew the man. But this girl...she not only knew him, she seemed to be proud of that fact.

"Do you know...what that number signifies?" she asked after a moment of silence. "Why he wore it?"

He was stunned by her question and silently shook his head. He'd always wanted to know what the number meant. To his surprise, she drew closer to him and he raised an eyebrow in uncertainty. What was she going to do?

Slowly, she reached forward and touched his tattooed cheek with her finger. He flinched momentarily at the contact, but she didn't draw away. Instead, she began tracing over the number nine. "The nine...was for the squad he loved, the squad he would always protect," she murmured softly. Then she moved to the next number. "The six...was for his name." His eyes focused on hers, just as a single tear slid from one and down her cheek. "Kensei..."

She stayed like that for a long moment, just staring at the mark with a deep pain and sorrow in her eyes. Then she slowly moved a step away from him and took a deep breath. As she did so, he realized that one of her hands had started shaking. It was far more painful for her to recall that man and speak about him than he'd thought.

"Yukiko...we should probably get going," he murmured, unsure of what else to say.

She took another steadying breath, stopping her shaking, before looking directly at him. "Please, call me Ume. It's...easier for me."

"R-right. Sorry," he muttered scratching the back of his head. It was a rather awkward situation for him.

"And what should I call you?" she asked, the teasing lilt back in her voice. "You never did introduce yourself."

He nodded, realizing she was right. "Lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi."

"Lieutenant Hisagi," she repeated lightly.

"Actually...you don't have to use my title if you don't want to," he muttered in embarrassment. "Since you don't have a rank anymore you don't have to use it. Just call me Shuhei."

She smiled painfully at him. "Alright, Shuhei. Shall we?" She gestured toward the squad 9 area as she spoke and he began leading the way once more. Looked like having her staying in his squad would be far more interesting than he originally thought.

* * *

Shippoman: Now Yukiko has finally given her report...showing all who'd been present an idea of her current mental status. Luckily for her, she's been allowed to return to squad nine...which she hasn't seen in years. With her mind still thinking about Kensei, what changes will she find and what if anything will be the same? Stay tuned and please remember to R&R. :D


	5. Chapter 5

Shippoman: First off, I want to give a shout out to our newest reviewer Suzume Amai as well as thank all of you who have been reviewing since chapter one and especially those that have stuck around from my last story, like rebecca taylor. You all make it worth posting. You guys are awesome! Now on to the story!

* * *

Chapter 5:

The remainder of the trip to squad 9 was made in silence, with Yukiko becoming deep in thought and Shuhei trying not to drag up any other strong memories for her. He was rather disconcerted by the face she'd shown when talking about the man who'd saved his life as a kid. It wasn't the face of someone who'd just been friends with him. No, he was certain there was more to their past relationship than just camaraderie.

As they stepped into the squad 9 area, he paused in his path and turned to face his companion once more. Before he could say a word though, he was distracted by the look of curiosity and concealed amusement on her face. "Is something wrong?" he asked watching her eyes move from one end of the street to the other.

"Hmm...it's all pretty different," she answered though she didn't sound too surprised. "I'm pretty sure some of these buildings have been re-purposed since I was last here."

"You make it sound like you were here all the time," he muttered derisively. "But being from squad 5 you wouldn't have seen this area nearly that often."

Yukiko chuckled mirthlessly at this and shook her head. "Did you forget what I said before already? I told you that Kensei was my first Captain didn't I?" She chuckled again and shook her head. "I may have introduced myself as being from squad 5...but before I joined that squad I was a part of squad 9...as the 10th seat," she told him easily. "Even after my transfer I was here at least once a month for sparring with my old squad members."

She took a deep breath after that and seemed to enjoy the afternoon air before her eyes snapped open and looked at him in surprise. "What now?" he demanded.

"Tell me, are there plum trees near here?" she asked hurriedly.

"Uh...you mean the orchard?" he asked in confusion.

Without responding, she dashed off farther into the squad area, leaving him to race after her. It was difficult keeping her in view with how fast she was moving, but he was able to just barely follow along. Moments later, his surprise and confusion only grew when he saw her stopping near the orchard he'd mentioned before and began slowly running her hand over the trunk of the nearest tree.

"I don't believe it," she murmured softly, not even registering that he was there as well. "How...how did an entire orchard manage to grow here?" Shuhei heard a delicate snort come from her as she shook her head. "And to think, you only used to be a single plum sapling; just barely getting its start."

She closed her eyes and lay her head against the rough bark, drinking in the scents and sounds from the orchard. Shuhei continued to watch silently, unsure about what exactly he should do about her. There were things that needed to be done, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to end her momentary peace.

As they continued to stand in a seemingly frozen moment in time, a group of voices coming from within the orchard reached their ears, bringing it to a close.

"I swear I felt her!"

"I know that's what you thought you felt, but she's been gone for a long time now."

"We all want to believe she's back, but there's no way."

"You were just dreaming."

"Tch, looks like those four were slacking off again," Shuhei muttered under his breath. Things were hard enough keeping track of his own work, but trying to make sure his men completed their work as well was a hassle. Especially these four.

He was just stepping forward, ready to call out to the four to get back to their post when he noticed something. Yukiko had her eyes glued on the rest of the trees, looking for the sources of the voices with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. What had triggered her now?

Then all at once the four in question came around a tree, bringing them into view. There were four young men, with various colors of hair and stature. All of them were older looking and had a mature air about them, but that did nothing to mask the more childish sounds of their voices. Shuhei knew them well. The blue haired one was currently his 6th seat. The one with blonde hair was his 9th seat. The brown and black haired men were both 12th seats and had been for awhile. It was as if they didn't care if they advanced or not.

Again he was about to yell at them for goofing off, but the female beside him was too fast. In an instant, she was across the gap that separated them and had her arms wrapped around the neck of the brown haired man. Shuhei reached for his sword on the off chance that she'd snapped and was attacking his men, but stopped when he heard the muffled hiccup. She was crying. Little did any of them know, she was trying her hardest to ignore the images of the four before her taking turns tearing her to pieces. She didn't want it to be real. She clung desperately to the idea the images were wrong. They had to be...

"What?" the four all exclaimed at the same time.

The one who was hugged was the most stunned until an all too familiar scent reached his nostrils. Then, he felt her reiatsu and his hands came up to pull her off just far enough so he could see her. He felt his hands shaking with disbelief until she looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

"U-Ume," he gasped having no clue what else to say.

The instant he said her name, the images all but vanished from her mind. She felt relief and joy fill her fear ravaged body making her cry all the more. "Kouga..." Yukiko hiccuped. Tears were sliding unendingly down each cheek but she didn't care.

Kouga was too stunned to say anything, but he wasn't the only one. The other three were staring at her with their mouths hanging open in disbelief.

"Sakagi," Yukiko whispered giving the blonde a hug as well. Then she turned to the other two and caught each one in one of her arms hugging them both at the same time. "Harris, Darui. You're all still here. I'm so happy."

After she released them Darui managed to find his voice as he pumped his fist in triumph. "See! I told you I felt her!" he exclaimed pointing her out to his friends. He brushed the short black spikes out of his face and grinned from ear to ear. "I knew there was no way she was dead."

"Yeah, I knew she'd come back one day," Kouga added with a cough. He was trying to force himself to regain some modicum of composure back. "I always said she was too good be taken out by anyone."

"We really missed you, Ume," Harris laughed pulling a strand of blue hair behind his ear. "I think we can all say we're thrilled to see you in one piece again."

Yukiko laughed at them and hugged them all once again while trying to keep from breaking out into more tears. She was just so overcome that she seemed incapable of forming any words.

After a few moments of different greetings and exclamations of disbelief the group finally started to calm down."You grew your hair out," Sakagi muttered. It was the first thing he'd said since she got their attention.

"I guess," she murmured scratching her head. "Honestly I just never got around to cutting it. Rose would blow a gasket if he could see it now." The five of them chuckled at her statement, just enjoying each other's company.

"What are the four of you doing?"

The group turned to see the Shuhei standing back a ways glaring at them. He had his arms crossed over his chest and it was clear he was irritated with the situation. Yukiko glanced at her four friends and found it amusing they were looking anywhere but at him. Not one of them opted to answer his question knowing they didn't actually have a good one for him.

"Don't you all have work to do?" Shuhei demanded harshly.

They nodded in response and began turning away from him to return to their work. Before they could move too far, however, Yukiko stepped forward and smiled softly at the lieutenant. "Actually, Shuhei, I have a request," she murmured. "I know being the acting captain has placed a large amount of work and responsibility on your shoulders and simply leading me around will in the long run be a waste of your time. Therefore, I request that these four take your place in that matter. They'll show me around, we'll have a chance to catch up, and you can return to your work that much faster."

Shuhei couldn't deny that he believed he needed to get back to work, but he also hated the idea of the four putting off their work even longer. In the end he decided to go along with her. "That's fine...but you only have two hours," he replied after a few moments. "After that the four of you have to finish your work."

"You can count on us Lieutenant Hisagi!" Kouga exclaimed quickly.

"Thank you for allowing us even this much time," Harris murmured giving a respectful bow of his head.

"Don't worry, Shuhei, I'll make sure these guys finish their work," Yukiko promised.

After that the five old friends took off into the orchard and disappeared from view. Shuhei groaned internally as he watched them leave before turning to get back to his own paperwork. He understood their desire to catch up after 107 years of separation, but he was starting to wonder if he would regret letting that girl have her way. In the end, he supposed he'd have to wait for that mystery to be answered.

* * *

"And that's when Sakagi here passed out."

It was mid-afternoon and the group of five found themselves sitting in the middle of the plum orchard telling yet another story from the last 107 years. Yukiko was sitting on the ground with her back pressed against the nearest tree, Darui was sitting cross-legged on the grassy area, Harris was seated on a rock they'd moved there, Sakagi was lying on his back trying to relax, and Kouga was standing in the center as he gestured about to emphasize his story. As he mentioned the downed soul reaper, he nudged him with his foot.

"The hollow had knock out gas for breath," Sakagi growled pushing the other's foot away. "You would have too if you'd been caught in it."

"Yeah, but this time I wasn't," Kouga pointed out excitedly. "Anyway, while he was passed out on the ground, I swooped in and blasted it away with a # 72 Hado."

"72? Kouga, you can still barely do a # 60 on your best day," Darui laughed. "Besides, the two of you only survived because Lieutenant Hisagi jumped in at the last second."

Yukiko giggled lightly at the group as Kouga nearly tackled the smaller man in an attempt to get him to stop. Meanwhile, Harris moved to sit beside her and smiled lightly. "I'm glad to see you in such good spirits," he murmured. "I was a little worried last night. You didn't seem to be doing well."

"Harris, I'm about as good as I can be," she pointed out. "Being around the four of you makes it considerably easier to handle, but that doesn't mean the pain isn't still there."

"I understand," he murmured. "Would it be too much to ask what you went through? I know you had to explain it to the captains already, but I was hoping there would be a way for us to help you more."

Yukiko looked him over for a moment unsure of how to answer him. In the process, she noticed that Kouga and Darui had stopped their little scuffle and Sakagi was fully sitting up; all of them paying close attention.

"A-alright," she murmured. "I'll tell you what I can, but it doesn't leave this group, understand?"

They all nodded and waited with baited breath. Since their tour the day before they'd noticed some subtle changes about her and were wondering why they existed in the first place. They weren't stupid, however, they knew very well that she'd been forced to remain a prisoner of Aizen, Ichimaru, and their former captain Tousen. They knew the chances of her being traumatized for life were very high.

"Well...first off, I'm only really able to move or speak with anyone because of Soyokaze," she explained sadly. "Those three did a real number on me...it's almost impossible to keep a hold of myself around those I knew back then. Even just feeling their reiatsu can set me off."

"So how are you able to talk to us so normally?" Darui asked worriedly.

"Like I said, it's mostly thanks to Soyokaze...but it's also because of you," she murmured smiling sadly. "See, during all of Aizen's illusions I never once heard my nickname spoken. Not by the fake you or the fake Mashiro. So, hearing you say it so easily reminds me that all the terrible memories I have of you aren't real. They were all Aizen's fabrications. Thanks to your use of my nickname it's easy to separate the actual you from the illusion." She shook her head at this point and set a hand on her forehead. "With everyone else...it's not that simple."

"I see, Aizen did a good job making his illusion versions of everyone almost exact copies," Harris murmured in thought. "It's impossible for you to toss the illusions to the side. You just can't tell the difference."

Yukiko nodded and sighed heavily. "If it was only that it wouldn't be so bad," she muttered. "Unfortunately, Soyokaze basically pushed all those memories behind a door within my mind. Right now it doesn't take much for the pressure behind that door to build allowing the memories to leak out. Memories of every person I used to know...killing me at least once." She shuddered at the thought and shook her head to clear it of the images her statement instigated. "If too much comes out without me being able to calm down the door bursts open and I'm bombarded by every memory from those years."

The four stared at her without saying a word. None of them had any idea of what to say after all. They had never experienced anything like the pain she'd obviously been through and didn't know how to help her. Eventually, Sakagi sighed and moved closer to her. "You're taking on too much at once," he growled out. "So fix it."

"What kind of a response is that?" Kouga demanded. "If she could fix it, she would have done so by now."

"I'm saying split it," Sakagi reiterated. "You said you had memories of every person you knew, right? Well then instead of risking having an avalanche of memories, separate them for each individual. It's always better to tackle something a piece at a time rather than all at once."

Yukiko blinked a few times before his words fully sank in. _"Can we really do that?"_ she asked her blade.

" _It is possible to organize the memories in that manner and have a separate door for each,"_ Soyokaze responded. _"But it would take a couple days at least to finish and there's no guarantee it would even work."_

" _But there's no guarantee it won't either,"_ Yukiko pointed out. Her sword did nothing to tell her she was wrong so she nodded and moved into her meditation pose. "Sakagi...I think you're onto something," she told them. "I'm going to give it a shot but it'll take a couple days to complete. So if you guys could ask that I not be disturbed until then that'd be great."

The guys looked at each other as she slowly closed her eyes without waiting for an answer. "Is she really going to meditate for two days?" Darui asked nervously. "She could end up really hurting herself that way."

"Yeah, but you know how she is," Kouga chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "No matter what we say she'll still do it. She's always been stubborn like that."

"Yes...it is very worrisome," Harris agreed. "However, as long as it doesn't stretch more than that she should still be fine. She isn't exerting any energy during this after all."

"How are we going to keep people from bugging her?" Sakagi demanded harshly. "She never thinks these things through. If someone like the Head Captain demands to see her we'll have to whether she's finished or not."

"Finished with what?"

The four jumped to their feet at the sound of the voice. When they spotted the owner they all saluted him and nervously waited to hear him berate them again. When nothing else was said Harris slowly lowered his hand.

"It's a surprise to see you, Lieutenant Hisagi. Is there something you needed?" he asked slowly.

"Woah, Madam Shihoin...it's been a while," Kouga added when he spotted the purple haired woman. "We heard you were back but until we saw Ume it was a little unbelievable."

"Did you need something with Ume?" Darui finished.

Shuhei glared at the four of them before responding. "What is she working on?"

"Oh...well uh..." Kouga tried to answer but found he hadn't really understood enough of the conversation to repeat it to someone else.

"She's trying to separate her memories to make them easier to handle," Sakagi summed up in a deadpan.

"Right, and she asked that she not be disturbed until she is finished," Harris added.

"Tch, she's got a lot of nerve demanding to..." Shuhei started, but he was cut off by Youruichi who stepped closer to the group of four.

"So then she's meditating right now?" she asked curiously. She stepped passed the four to see that Yukiko was in deed in a meditative position. "How long will it take?"

"She said a couple days at least," Darui answered with a sigh of relief. He seemed to realize they could relax now.

"I see, well that's a shame," Youruichi muttered shaking her head. "I needed to talk to her about something. Oh well, I can just have you lot relay a message to her."

"What message?" Kouga asked eager to help.

"Just let her know the Ryoka are leaving tomorrow and I'll be going with them," Youruichi answered after a moment. "And let her know that if she ever needs it, the 11 of us are more than eager to see her in the human world."

"Eleven...?" Kouga started to ask but he stopped when Sakagi jabbed him in the ribs.

"We'll make sure she gets it," Harris promised.

"In that case I'll head out," Youruichi laughed turning away from the group. "Just leave her for now, Shuhei, she's not hurting anything. And if I'm right, this should give her a bit of a boost to her recovery. Oh, and you boys let her know that Unohana, Ukitake and Shunsui all want a chance to speak with her as well."

"Sure thing, Madam Shihoin," Darui agreed.

Shuhei sighed heavily as he realized the ex-captain was leaving and he needed to catch up to her. It looked as if he'd have to put off talking to her himself about the ex-captain he looked up to. He just hoped that the two days it would take to finish the separation would be worth the incredible hunger she'd be experiencing when it was over. Somehow he was sure he didn't want to see how she was once she was up and moving again.

* * *

Shippoman: I'm sure you all guess who Youruichi was referring to but if not you'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Yukiko finally has a hint on something that might help. Question is will it be worth it? With her fears weighing in from all directions, and with squad nine being her only sanctuary how long will Yukiko be able to hold on to what's left of her shattered mind? Stay tuned to find out and please remember to keep reviewing. Seeing your opinions really make my day and make my writing even better.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"And that's...the last...one."

Yukiko panted heavily as she shoved one last memory behind a door and straightened up wiping the sweat from her brow. She looked around her and saw what looked like a very long corridor with doors standing on either side. A little ways down, a Nightingale flitted about from door to door until it reached her side.

"All the doors seem to be completely stable," it explained with relief. "Not a single one appears to be bulging. It seems the plan worked."

"Thank goodness," Yukiko sighed again. "Now, going through the memories of each person should be much easier. I just hope it's enough, Soyokaze."

"There's really only one way to find out," the blade's spirit murmured. "It's been two and a half days. You really should get up and get something to eat."

As if on cue Yukiko's stomach growled loudly and she opened her eyes to see herself back in the plum orchard. "Oh, right, this is where I started my meditation," she murmured. She groaned as she began shifting her arms and legs and stretched as much as possible. Her limbs ached from not moving for so long and she paused as her stomach growled again. "Eh...you were right, Soyokaze. I'm starving."

Slowly, so as not to get a head rush, or make her aching body worse, she got to her feet and began making her way toward where she remembered the cafeteria being. Her mind was so focused on her destination that she barely registered who she passed on the way.

Eventually she made it to the building where the smell of food was wafting out of it and her mouth started watering. "So hungry," she grumbled before stepping inside. She sincerely hoped they'd be willing to give her the amount of food she needed. After all, going longer than 48 hours without any food was a bad idea.

She stepped through the front doors and immediately headed to the counter where all the food was available. Then she proceeded to request a serving of each of the items available, ending in her platter nearly overflowing with food. Once she'd gathered as much as she wanted she made her way over to a table. Luckily for her, she spotted an open seat next to two of her good friends.

"Darui, Sakagi," she greeted with a grin as she sat down, setting the platter on the table. "How are you guys holding up?"

"Uh, shouldn't we be asking you that?" Darui asked nervously. "You were out of it for two whole days. Were you able to finish?"

"How do you feel?" Sakagi asked calmly.

Yukiko took her time chewing her food as she thought through her answer. "I'm better...relatively speaking," she explained. "At the very least the near constant headache I had before is gone. Plus most of the bulging pressure seems to be lessened. But we won't know for sure if it'll work until I talk to Unohana or Youruichi."

"Oh, speaking of which, Youruichi showed up just after you started and wanted to talk to you," Darui cut in suddenly remembering their conversation. He went on to relay the message the ex-captain had left behind. He finished explaining all of it about the same time Yukiko finished eating.

"I see...so Ichigo and the others have already left," she murmured softly. "Bummer, I was hoping to send them off. I kind of owe them." She made a mental note to figure out what the woman had meant by "the 11 of us". But that would have to wait until later. "So, was there anything else I missed?"

"Yes." The three glanced up to see that Shuhei had approached their table and seemed to have caught the end of their conversation. "Captain Unohana, Captain Ukitake, and Captain Shunsui have all requested that you visit them when you get the chance."

"That makes sense," Yukiko chuckled sweating a little. Meeting one alone she was sure would be difficult, but all three? She'd need a break in between them or something. Of this she was certain. "Well, then I guess I'd better get going. I'm not doing any good just sitting around here after all."

She got to her feet and began walking away, but paused when she felt her hand being caught by another. "Ume, please don't push yourself," Darui asked worriedly. "I don't want you to fall into one of those fits without one of us to pull you out of it."

"Just watch yourself," Sakagi inputted without looking up at her.

"I will, thank you both," she murmured, giving them both a reassuring smile. "It'll probably take a while to visit all three, but I'll try to get it done quickly. Then maybe the five of us could have one of our old training sessions."

"Yeah!" Darui exclaimed excitedly.

"Only if you think you can handle it," Sakagi grunted.

"Just get moving," Shuhei cut in. "You're no use to anyone if you can't get over this."

"I know...and don't worry, Shuhei, I promise I'll talk to you more about Kensei at a later date," she stated with a teasing lilt to her voice. "You'll just have to wait until I'm a little farther along."

With that she took off and Shuhei groaned. "You want to talk to her about the ex-Captain Muguruma?" Darui asked in confusion.

"That's none of your concern," he retorted quickly. "Just finish here and return to your duties. There's still a lot we need to take care of."

"Yes, sir," Darui and Sakagi both saluted.

After this, Shuhei made his way out of the cafeteria making a beeline for the offices. As usual, he had a lot of work to take care of himself. He had to complete the tasks of both the lieutenant and captain. A full-time job...one that had him almost constantly working. Still, as he walked along the path toward the office, he couldn't help the little piece of him that wiggled inside in excitement. She'd promised to tell him more about the captain he'd admired for so long. He would make sure she kept that promise.

* * *

Several hours after her departure, Yukiko stepped into the office of the squad 4 captain. Her hands were twitching at her side as she made her way over to the only seat available, barely comprehending that the female captain had greeted her. It couldn't be helped; ever since she entered the area she was able to sense the captain's reiatsu causing her to be more and more on edge. Now that she was in the woman's presence, she could feel the pressure in her mind return with almost full force.

"It's been a while, Captain Unohana," she murmured, forcing herself to sit down. "Might I ask the reason you called me?"

"I simply wished to evaluate your current state one-on-one," Unohana explained. "We need to know for sure..."

"If I'm going to turn on anyone...I know," Yukiko cut her off. "I get it. I was trapped by him for so long you have to be careful. Just go ahead and ask what you want. I'll answer as best as I can."

The captain nodded in understanding before making a note on the pad sitting on her desk. "I'm glad you're so willing," Unohana murmured. "Because what I need to know, is exactly what was done to you while in Aizen's custody."

Yukiko flinched at this as her hands tightened on either side of her body. Inside, she felt one of the doors strain at the very thought and knew Soyokaze was going to have her hands full trying to keep it all contained.

"I...can't give any real...details," she struggled to say, looking anywhere but at the fourth squad captain. "To be honest...I'm not sure I can even admit in general terms...what he did."

Unohana made another note while observing the nervous tension that continued to grow within the girl before her. "Yukiko, if I am to determine how best to handle your situation, I need to understand what damage was done to your mind," she explained calmly.

"I know that!" Yukiko snapped. Right away her eyes widened in shock before sinking back down into her seat and taking several deep calming breaths. She was pleased to note that she was able to regain control on her own strength...thanks to the meditation lessons from Tousen and Soyokaze's constant attempts to keep the many doors closed. "Look, Captain Unohana, I understand the importance of knowing what I went through, but right now it's a struggle to keep in mind that you're actually trying to help me. I doubt dragging up memories of the pain he inflicted will be beneficial right now."

"I'm not asking for a detailed description of what he's done," Unohana returned softly. She didn't appear to be fazed by the ex-soul reaper's outburst, but really she was worried about it. "We already know he used his illusions on you. We just need to know in what fashion."

Yukiko looked away from her again and began shuffling her feet nervously. While Unohana believed she was simply trying to think things over, she was really having another struggle.

"Again? But we just closed it!" Yukiko exclaimed as the inner version of her strained to keep one of three doors from being thrown open. "I thought this was supposed to make it easier!"

" _It is, and if you notice not all the doors are bulging,"_ Soyokaze called back and she flitted between the other two shifting doors. _"These are to be expected though. They're the memories with Unohana, Shunsui and Ukitake. You've been thinking about them a lot today to start with, this conversation is just making it worse."_

"Soyokaze, I don't...I don't want to think about it," Yukiko cried as tears leaked down her cheeks.

" _Then say something to end the conversation,"_ Soyokaze called back. _"If you don't soon, they really will all break open."_

"If it makes it easier, I'll simply ask you a question and you just have to answer yes or no." Unohana's voice brought Yukiko back to the real world and she met the squad captain's gaze despite her best efforts. After a moment or two, she silently nodded and Unohana began. "Did these illusions happen the entire time?"

"Yes," Yukiko murmured feeling a small portion of the stress ebb. Not having to actually state it herself seemed to be helping.

"Was it every other day?"

"No."

"Was it constant?"

There was a short pause before... "Yes."

"Did he inflict bodily harm on you?"

"S-sort of."

"So, he did so through someone else."

"Yes."

Unohana tapped her fingers against the table as she thought about her next question. By this point, the doors inside Yukiko's mind had been reduced to small shudders and she found herself almost relaxing.

"Did he do so through the member of the Gotei 13 that you are familiar with?"

The question had a greater impact than the young soul believed possible. Right away the same door suddenly shook violently and the one containing memories with Unohana splintered. "Y-yes," she stammered, each breath coming faster than normal.

"Did these images of them...of us, kill you?"

In an instant, the door burst and hundreds of memories flowed endlessly before Yukiko's eyes. Unohana standing before her with her sword about to devour her, Unohana laughing darkly behind her while a blade was visible from her chest.

"Yukiko..."

Unohana murmured the name guardedly as said soul reaper was shaking uncontrollably while one hand gripped the pommel of her sword. Her eyes had gone wide and glazed over. She was gasping now, her lips barely moving, and tears began sliding down each cheek.

"I...I can feel it," she whispered. "They're here...it's happening again." Her lips trembled as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't want to die...not again. No more...no more pain, no more fear. Please no more. Sousuke, help me."

Unohana was barely able to make out what the younger woman was muttering and knew she'd pushed it too far. She also knew she'd been right on the money. However, she could not afford to allow her to go on a rampage. So, she reached into her desk and pulled out a small syringe while signaling to her lieutenant for some assistance.

At the same time, Yukiko spotted the syringe and the grip she had on her sword tightened. She could see it so clearly, the syringe pressing gently into her skin while she was completely unable to fight back, followed by a numbing sensation while the older woman looked down at her coldly. Unohana was going to kill her...yet again.

She took several steps back trying to avoid the seemingly deadly object until she felt something wrap around her, keeping her from being able to move at all. Looking down she noticed a Bakudo # 61 keeping her still. She opened her mouth to scream, just as she noticed the sharp needle press into her skin. Then, all went black.

* * *

For Captain Unohana the next week was very informative as far as Yukiko's situation was concerned. While it was clear she was working very hard to improve herself, it was also clear she wasn't making very good progress. Over the next couple days, she visited Captain Ukitake and Captain Shunsui, both visits ending in her being knocked unconscious.

After those incidents she attempted to make sure that if she was ever required to be in the presence of someone she knew, it was with a new soul reaper present, just in case. The only bright side to all of this being that she hadn't actually attacked anyone yet, though the squad 4 captain could still remember the close call she herself had experienced.

The last time she set eyes on Yukiko, the young woman had bags under her eyes from obvious sleep deprivation. It was clear the stress she was under was slowly crushing her. The question now, was how much longer would her weakening strength hold out?

It was this very question that led the female captain to being in the squad 1 meeting room with Head Captain Yamamoto, Captain Ukitake, and Captain Shunsui. A final decision regarding her needed to be reached...now.

"Captain Unohana, what have you discerned about Yukiko's condition?" Yamamoto demanded.

Said captain shook her head despondently. "I'm afraid she is not doing well. The damage done to her mind is very extensive and although she is fighting to keep from having it affect her, she is failing in this endeavor."

"She did do alright during my visit for a time," Ukitake pointed out. "In fact it took an hour or so before she lost control. I believe it was when I brought out tea that she became greatly agitated."

"She lasted a little longer than that with me," Shunsui added. "Though what set her off in my case was a combination of the last question I asked her and Nanao walking in with a book in her hand. I think it brought up some rather terrible memories."

"What was the question?" Unohana asked curiously.

"If she knew what became of those eight," Shunsui answered. "I took the liberty of explaining it to her when she said no, before she started holding her head. Then my little Nanao entered and she retreated to the farthest corner she could from us and curled into a ball."

"That is a slight improvement at least," Unohana commented. "It sounds as if she has not attempted to attack anyone else yet."

"Regardless, it is clear that her actions are far too unpredictable with the sheer number of unknown triggers," Yamamoto cut in harshly. "We cannot allow this to continue."

"I agree, but I also believe that part of the reason she's having such a difficult time recovering is because of the amount of reiatsu here in the seireitei she recognizes," Unohana explained. "It is my belief that being able to sense our presence puts a constant strain on her mind and body. This makes it that much harder for her to keep herself under control."

"Well, that's not exactly something we can completely fix unless we isolate her," Shunsui pointed out.

"Did you have something in mind, Unohana?" Ukitake asked hopefully.

"After speaking with Captain Soi Fon, I believe the best place for her recovery would be the world of the living," Unohana answered calmly.

"Wouldn't that be handing her over to Aizen on a silver platter?" Shunsui murmured raising a confused eyebrow.

"If we left her to her own devices yes," she agreed. "However, under the indirect supervision of Youruichi and by staying near the substitute soul reaper she should have enough cover to avoid this outcome."

"It would be safer with them around, but I'm still failing to see why being over there would benefit her more," Ukitake murmured in concern.

"You see, we've all noted thanks to Ichigo's accompaniment for her report, she was able to recover from several would be episodes." Unohana smiled softly to herself as if laughing at her own personal joke.

"Yes, but what does this have to do with her going to the world of the living?" Yamamoto demanded.

"Because of the use of her nickname, Ume," the squad 4 captain continued. "She utilizes that here with the squad members that are new to her. The difference is, there are almost no energies there she recognizes. She should be able to utilize this different environment to allow her body and mind a chance to relax, which is something she cannot obtain here."

"Hmm...and how long would you suggest she be allowed to remain there?" Yamamoto asked slowly.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd say at least a year," she answered. "However, considering the issues we're having with Aizen, this would be a poor decision. Instead I would say until Aizen makes his move, or until she has a more functional mentality."

"That's a great plan and all," the squad 8 captain spoke up. "But what do you plan on doing if this doesn't work?"

"I've already spoken to Yukiko on this matter," Unohana answered. "She said that if she is unable to regain a descent level of functionality by the time Aizen attacks, she will voluntarily allow us to place her in the Maggot's Nest."

"She volunteered?" Ukitake exclaimed in alarm.

"Yes. She explained it by saying "I'd rather be locked up than used against the people I care about."," Unohana stated simply. "She's very aware that all of Aizen's actions seem to have been to distance her from us while attempting to solidify a more dependent attitude towards the three of them."

"So, instead of being used as a weapon against us, she plans on rotting away in that hell hole," Shunsui summed up shaking his head. It was a depressing conclusion but one he couldn't argue with. If she couldn't find a way to regain her former self, it would more than likely be their only option.

A heavy silence fell over the four captains as they contemplated the suggestion put out by the squad 4 captain. It really seemed like it was the only option, or at least the best one in their current situation. They were working towards fighting a war, after all, and couldn't afford to have such a large potential threat/distraction in the center of their strong hold.

Eventually Yamamoto knocked his walking stick/sword on the ground, causing a loud thud to echo through the otherwise silent room. "Very well, Yukiko will carry out the remainder of her recovery in the world of the living until Aizen begins to move. She will be under supervision of Youruichi Shihoin, Kisuke Urahara, and Tessai Tsukabishi. She will provide reports every weekend regarding her progress, and if no significant progress is obtained before this deadline she will be placed in the Maggot's Nest indefinitely."

* * *

Shippoman: And so, Yukiko prepares to head to the world of the living. Will this new living arrangement really help her or will she only get worse? She's back on the watch list with the stealth force and could be heading to the maggot's nest again. If so, this time it'll be of her own volition. Next chapter, Yukiko reunites with her new human friends and gets to see a few old ones as well. Remember to R&R as it always brightens my day and helps me write better.

Thanks Suzume Amai for all the psychological tips. I'll keep them in mind as I continue to write her development. Hopefully I can stay true to my vision while making it as believable as possible.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

It was early morning when a soft knock sounded against a sliding door, the sun barely beginning to peek through one of the windows. It went completely unnoticed, however, as the current occupant of the room was currently engaged in a powerful inner struggle.

"Stop!" Yukiko collapsed onto her knees panting heavily as tears streamed unendingly down her cheeks.

It was several minutes before she finally stopped crying and looked up. Above her Soyokaze was flitting about her and there. "Yukiko, are you alright?" she asked worriedly. "You really shouldn't have tried to do three in one night. I think one is the safe limit right now."

Yukiko hiccuped as she moved into a seated position with her back leaning against the nearest door. "No, I don't have time to be doing only one a day," she argued, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I have to try and get through as many as possible."

"Yes, but not all at once," Soyokaze pointed out. "As you are right now you haven't been able to finish revisiting all the memories for a single person. You have hundreds to go through, what you should do is pick a group and go through them one at a time. Don't move on until you've finished the first."

"I can't!" Yukiko dropped her head into her hand as she fought to keep the tears from coming back. "Soyokaze, It would take years just to finish the captains I know at the rate you're suggesting. I can't wait that long. You know what'll happen if I don't start making some noticeable progress."

"I know, but that's why you are being sent to the human world," Soyokaze reminded her. "A place where you should be able to concentrate easier."

Yukiko didn't answer as she continued to breathe, feeling the door behind her shift slightly. Even without trying she was able to sense the presence of a dozen or so soul reapers from her past. Every time their reiatsu washed over her, she felt and saw the corresponding doors groan under the increased pressure.

"Maybe you're right," she groaned as the shuddering doors slowed to a stop. "When am I leaving again?"

"I think right now," Soykaze snickered. "You still haven't noticed the person knocking on your door after all."

"Someone's knocking?!" Yukiko exclaimed jumping to her feet. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"

"Because you needed to get a hold of yourself before answering the door," her sword explained easily.

Yukiko groaned again before opening her eyes and getting up off the floor of her bedroom. She took a moment to check her appearance in the mirror and get rid of the tears left on her cheeks before heading over to the door. When she opened it, she wasn't too surprised to see Kouga standing there.

"Finally, I was starting to get worried," he greeted rubbing his head. "You alright, Ume?"

All the tension built up inside of her slipped out of her the moment he used the name and she smiled at him. "I'm alright," she told him easily. "Is there something you needed?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're supposed to be at the senkaimon," he answered. "Everyone's already there waiting on you."

Yukiko glanced out the window and saw it was early morning. "Right, I'm supposed to be going to the world of the living today," she sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Too bad I can't take you guys with me."

"Heh, yeah we'd love that too," Kouga agreed. "Oh, just so you know it'll only Harris and me there today. Sakagi and Darui are off on a mission and won't be back in time."

"Thanks for telling me," Yukiko murmured. "I assume this means you're here to escort me?"

"Yeah, if you want that is."

"Thanks, Kouga."

The ex-soul reaper moved around her room gathering up what she thought she might need and fit them in a bag she tied to her waist. Then she followed her old friend out of the barracks and toward the senkaimon in the squad 6 area.

As they approached, Yukiko became very aware of the familiar presences that awaited them. The feeling of the four familiar captain came upon her, eliciting the feeling of cold steel pressing against her skin. As they continued to draw closer, the feeling of the steel pressed harder and harder against her. Just as the gate was coming into view, she could feel the sting of a blade painfully slowly splitting her skin. Then when she spotted three of the captains she felt, the blade suddenly drove all the way through a lung; removing her ability to breathe properly.

"You alright, Ume?" Kouga asked from beside her.

His words were like a ray of hope as the blade-like sensation vanished, allowing her to breathe once more. "Yeah...I'm fine," she returned with a forced smile.

Her companion obviously didn't fully buy her answer, but thought it better not to press it as he came to a halt in front of the small gathering.

"You nervous, Yukiko?" the captain to her left asked as he tilted his large sugegasa* in her direction.

She looked over at him and felt her skin crawl as the door within shuddered. The man smiling at her had a long ripple stretching across his face, with nothing behind it. Her first instinct was to turn and run in the opposite direction, but then she realized the wind wasn't blowing at the moment, and her own reiatsu wasn't stirring. The appearance of the ripple should be impossible in these conditions. She tried to use this reasoning to calm the increased beating of her heart, but it wasn't working.

"I guess I'll just have to let it slide," Yukiko thought, forcing down her fear with every ounce of strength she could muster. To the man before her, she put on a hesitant smile and offered him her hand. "Maybe a little, Captain Shunsui," she admitted as he took her hand in his own. "But maybe when I get back we can have a drink for real."

"I'll accept that," he smiled lightly.

She internally winced when he smiled in response. It seemed a bit too lopsided a grin to her, sending a chill down her spine that made her hair stand on end. Still she didn't pull away until he released her hand. Next to him stood a female she was familiar with, though she'd probably changed more than anyone else.

"Nanao, maybe we can exchange favorite stories," the ex-soul reaper suggested lightly. "If you're still into reading books anyway."

The younger soul reaper nodded curtly and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "So long as your taste doesn't mirror...hers," she acknowledged.

Yukiko grinned a little in exasperation, knowing exactly what the other was referring to and nodded. "I promise that's not the case."

Nanao nodded in acceptance before moving to the side of her captain. To her right was standing another captain she knew would be present. His soft smile started to ease a little of her stress, before increasing it once more as a ripple ripped open over his chest. She forced a smile on her face for him as well.

"Captain Ukitake, I'm glad you came," she expressed. "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was about our visit."

He quickly held up his hand to stop her apology. "It's fine, Yukiko, it would be foolish of me to expect any different considering your circumstances," he murmured softly. "I'm just pleased you seem to be doing better. I just wish you didn't need to leave to continue progressing."

"I know, me too," she agreed dipping her head toward him in the smallest of bows. She'd wanted to give him a deeper one, but the fear of what he'd do if she took her eyes off him kept her from doing so. Inside she could feel the doors shuddering again and she had to mentally shake her head to try and clear the sound from her mind.

"Ume, you should probably keep going," Kouga pointed out from behind her.

This calmed the shuddering just enough to where she was able to think a little clearer. Thanking her friend, she stepped closer to the senkaimon moving closer to the third captain she'd felt. "Captain Unohana," she greeted. "Thank you for everything. I may not like the idea of leaving the seireitei, but I do see the benefits of it. I just hope we don't have to resort to the backup plan."

"As do I, Yukiko," the squad 4 captain replied. "Do not hesitate to seek help if it becomes a necessity. There's no shame in it."

"I know. I'll make sure to keep that in mind," Yukiko promised. For some reason, the shuddering in her mind wasn't nearly as strong as it was with the others. She was able to smile a little more comfortable than with the other three.

After speaking with the three captains, she took a look around trying to find the last one, but for some reason couldn't find them anywhere. She supposed they just weren't at the senkaimon. They didn't really have a reason to show up after all. Turning back toward the gate, she spotted the one person she was most happy to see...Harris.

"Good luck out there," he murmured as the two exchanged a tight hug. "Don't forget, the seireitei is just a phone call away."

"I know...I'm going to miss the four of you," she mumbled reluctantly pulling away. "It's not going to be easy doing this without you."

"Well, maybe we'll be able to get Lieutenant Hisagi to let us take a day to come visit," Kouga suggested.

"I doubt it, we're all preparing for a possible war," Harris cut in. "There is no reason for him to allow us to go somewhere to relax."

Before the two could go any farther with their discussion, Yukiko pulled them into a hug once more. "Just try not to give him too much grief. He's taking a lot onto his shoulders and needs his seated officers to give him support and take some of the burden," she murmured. "He needs you."

The two nodded wordlessly, feeling too embarrassed to respond. Knowing she'd drawn out her departure long enough, she stepped away from the two and over to the open enormous double doors.

"Hold on! You're going to need one of these!"

Yukiko paused in her walk to turn and see a familiar head of firery red hair. "Ah, Lieutenant Abarai," she greeted. That's when she noticed he had a small black butterfly on his shoulder. "A hell butterfly...I haven't used one in years. Thank you."

"Uh, you can leave it as just Renji," he told her scratching the back of his head. "You're close enough to being a friend...so I'll let you use it, Ume."

Yukiko giggled despite herself at his answer and nodded. "Very well then, Renji. Thank you for the hell butterfly," she told him, allowing said creature to perch on her own shoulder. "Is your captain coming?"

"Uh, Captain Kuchiki? I think he's still in the recovery process," he answered trying to remember where he'd last seen the stoic captain.

"I'm well enough for this."

Yukiko glanced up and smiled, almost warmly, at the squad 6 captain as he stood a ways away. She lifted one hand in greeting and waved. "You've really grown," she said loudly. "I know I never had the chance to say it before but...congratulations on becoming a captain, Captain Kuchiki."

He nodded without a word and she sighed. Looked as if he'd managed to gain control over his emotions. She couldn't deny that it disappointed her she wouldn't be able to see the irritated look he used to give her. Ignoring the creaking of the squad 6 captain's door, she decided to see if she could manage to at least crack his calm facade.

"Well, I guess it's time to go," she murmured looking at all the faces of those that cared enough to see her off. "No worries, I'll definitely find a way to fix this...and be back stronger than ever. So...I'll see ya around, Bya-chan!" With that she got a good look at the expression he was making, giggled a little, spun around toward the senkaimon, and disappeared inside. "Now that, was the Bya-chan I remember."

* * *

It took about an hour for Yukiko to make her way to the other end of the senkaimon as she was walking the entire way. Plus, she was kind of stalling for as long as she could. The space was so devoid of reiatsu from other people, that for the first time since her imprisonment, she felt safe. Her mind was able to relax, she didn't fear anything she was seeing, and she was able to converse with her blade without a single relapse. The entire trip, made her feel like the plan to go to the world of the living could really work.

As she exited the passage between the two worlds, she inhaled the air from the bright sunny world and smiled. "It's so nice," she murmured. "And smells so good." Then she opened her eyes and scanned the city below. "Wow...I didn't think a hundred years would change this place that much. It's so different and...bigger."

"Well this is the human world," a voice chuckled lightly.

Yukiko blinked as she shot a look to her left and spotted the source. When the voice sounded, and when she spotted who it was, she forced down the shout of surprise and the rising bile from her stomach. "You're right, Youruichi, the human world always was in fluctuation even while we were in the seireitei," she murmured.

"This world isn't the only thing that's changed," the purple haired woman pointed out. "Why don't we move on? I know you're dying to see them again."

"Poor choice of wording, but yes...I am," the younger muttered in reply. "I want to see Kisuke and Tessai."

* * *

Shippoman: So the first scene here ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated and wasn't able to fit the rest of the intro into the human world in, but I wanted to make sure it ended on a rather good note. But rest assured you'll get to see some awesome familiar faces in the next chapter. Kisuke and Tessai get to see her again, and she starts going to school to take a break from her constant struggle of mental control. But will it really be that easy? stay tuned and please remember to R&R.

*Sugegasa - the japanese name for an asian straw conical.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

With their speed, the two ex-soul reapers were able to make it across town in very little time. When they reached their destination, the doors were still closed. It was rather surprising for Yukiko to see the small building surrounded by a wooden fence, with traditional japanese style doors and a white van on the left side.

"What is this place?" she asked, looking over the area from the front yard. "It's...quiet."

Youruichi chuckled lightly as she walked up to the closed door. "This is Kisuke's place. It's a little shop that sells candy among other things to the humans, while providing gigai and other tools for soul reapers."

"How have you been able to hide all this time if you're selling tools to soul reapers?" the younger female asked.

"Easy, we make sure only the younger generation area aware of us," she answered with a smile. "We knew how to stay invisible."

Yukiko smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense," she murmured lightly. She looked over the building before her and pictured the man who owned it...or at least, the man she remembered.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a side door opened and two kids came outside. The boy had bright red hair and a broom in his hand. "Ugh, why do we have to sweep the front?" he demanded angrily. "If he was out here I'd show him!"

"But Ginta, you're scared of Mr. Tessai too," the girl mumbled. She had short black hair with bangs that hung in the center of her face. She too was carrying a broom and was wearing a bright flowery dress.

"I'm not scared of that muscle monster, Ururu!" Ginta exclaimed as he started digging his knuckles into the poor girl's head.

"Ouch! Ginta that hurts!" she cried holding her hands to her aching head.

Yukiko watched the pair in amused confusion. Beside her, Youruichi chuckled before approaching them. "Causing problems again this morning?" the older woman laughed.

At the sound of the voice the pair stopped and looked up at her. "Oh, it's just you, Youruichi," the boy muttered letting the girl go. "You looking for the owner?" As he talked, he caught sight of the ex-soul reaper still standing near the front gate. "Who's that?"

"An old friend," Youruichi answered brushing it aside. "Is he still sleeping?"

"Probably," Ginta grumbled. "Come on in."

He looked over at the unfamiliar woman once more before moving to the sliding doors and pulling them open. At the same time, Yukiko moved toward the building, nodding to the little girl as a greeting. As she stepped through the doors, she saw stands lined up in the room, filled to the brim with candy, trinkets, and a random assortments of odds and ends. She assumed that anything soul society related would be in the back so the living wouldn't accidentally discover them.

"Ginta, the store isn't open yet. What are you doing?"

Yukiko was startled by the deep voice that spoke and she immediately looked for the source. What she saw was a very tall man, with his black hair in cornrows and a white apron on. She would not have been able to recognize him if it wasn't for the obvious body structure. Even the sunglasses he wore couldn't fully mask his identity.

"Tessai," she whispered. Her breath caught in her throat seeing him and a few images flashed through her mind that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Youruichi's back," Ginta grumbled in answer. "And she brought a friend."

Tessai stopped in his path toward the back and looked toward the door where he spotted the "friend" that was brought. "I see."

In an instant, he set the box he was carrying on the floor and walked over to the door, towering over the younger female. Yukiko swallowed hard as he stood there. She could feel her lungs compressing, cutting off her oxygen, as she waited for him to do something...anything.

"It's good to see you again, Yukiko!" he said loudly dropping one of his enormous hands on her shoulder. The impact nearly caused her to collapse, but after the pat he turned and walked back to his box. The nervous air that had grown had all but disappeared. "The owner is sleeping in the back. I'll go wake him."

"That won't be necessary."

Again Yukiko lost her breath, and her heart stopped. Her hands started trembling as she forced herself to look to the back room where the owner now stood. He was tall, shorter than the hulk that had towered over her before but still tall. He wore a green kimono, clogs on his feet and a striped hat that covered his facial features and most of his hair. In one hand he held a cane and in the other he had a small white fan.

"Welcome back, Youruichi," he greeted, tilting his hat up so his face was visible.

As he did so, his eyes met Yukiko's and she had to fight back the urge to recoil. It was indeed the man she remembered, Kisuke Urahara. She could remember the torture she suffered by his hand and had to force herself to shut it away. "It wasn't him, it was Aizen. None of it actually happened," she repeated in her mind over and over again. Although it did nothing to calm the rising fear while the reiatsu of the three permeated the air, it did allow her to nod in his direction without stepping backward.

"Yukiko...it's good to see you," he expressed, a sad smile covering his face. "I have something for you."

* * *

It was a half hour later when Yukiko stepped into the dining room of the Urahara shop. She now wore a school uniform, with the skirt sitting at her mid thigh and her button up form fitted shirt. "Uh, Kisuke, how did you know my size?" she asked as soon as she could see the residents sitting at the table.

"I've made a gigai for you before," he pointed out with a smile. "Of course I wasn't going to forget what size clothes you wear so easily."

Yukiko weakly grinned at him before taking the only open space at the table. "So, since you had this waiting for me I guess this means you knew I was coming?"

"Of course," Youruichi answered. "I was alerted by Soi Fon about the decision the Head Captain came to."

"I see, that makes sense," Yukiko acknowledged.

"The squad 2 Captain gave me a bit of useful information that allowed me to make a few special modifications to your gigai," Urahara continued.

"What modifications?" Yukiko asked. She was hoping the conversation would keep her mind off of the thought of what they had put in her food. She forced herself to lift the food to her mouth, hoping she was right in trusting they hadn't done anything to it.

"For instance, I heard that familiar reiatsu alone can become a trigger for you," Urahara explained. "So, I added a special reiatsu dampener that allows you to go through your day without sensing anything, unless you want to."

"You mean, I don't have to worry about being over taxed by reiatsu?" she asked looking down at her false body. Now that she took a second, she could no longer feel anything coming from the people next to her. Granted the gigai they were wearing kept their own reiatsu had a near invisible level. She couldn't feel them before until they were right next to her, but now, there was nothing at all. "You know...it actually does help." She took a bite of her food and smiled when she realized nothing was obviously wrong with it. It tasted pretty good, and she could feel the anxiety over it dwindling slightly.

Urahara and Youruichi gave each other a knowing smile and began digging in themselves. The entire group enjoyed the meal as the two ex-captains regaled the two children with tales from their time in soul society. Yukiko enjoyed hearing the old stories as she ate her food and simply listened to their voices. When she finished eating, she simply closed her eyes and allowed the voices to fill her mind while she breathed deeply, trying her hardest to keep from allowing the shaking doors from opening.

Eventually, the group stopped talking and shared worried looks. "Well there's somewhere we need to be," Urahara stated getting to his feet. "Ginta, Ururu, You know where her apartment is going to be. Please show her there."

"My own apartment?" Yukiko asked getting to her feet as well.

"You did mention that it would be easier for you to recover if you were not surrounded by those you once knew," Youruichi reminded her. "This is just to give you a place at night where you can keep working without our interference."

"I see."

Urahara took a good hold of his cane and headed to the door stopping before he exited. "One more thing, that group is here and worried about you," he murmured. "Would you like us to let them know you're here and what your circumstances are?"

Yukiko took a few moments to think about what he'd said before shaking her head. "No...I'll tell them myself when I'm ready," she sighed. "Please...I don't want them...to see me like this."

The two ex-captains nodded and shared a look with each other before leaving. Yukiko sighed heavily to herself, feeling tears prick her eyes as she watched them go. She wanted more than anything to see that group, but knew that if she did so now...it'd only cause heartache, on both sides.

"Are you ready to go, Miss Yukiko?" Ururu asked as she picked up a set of keys.

"Um, I'd prefer for you to call me, Ume," she returned as she approached the young girl.

"Alright, Miss Ume."

"Just Ume."

"Ume..." Ururu repeated.

"Tch, what kind of a name is Ume?" Ginta demanded. "Sounds stupid."

"It's an old nickname she had from a long time ago," Tessai answered as he knocked the boy over the head. "Don't push it."

"Ow! Fine, I'll drop it!" Ginta exclaimed angrily. "Come on, Ururu. Let's get this over with."

Yukiko allowed the two children to lead her away from the shop and down many different streets. She was enthralled by the change in building structures and by the different vehicles she could see. It was in every sense a new world for her.

"So, you two live with Kisuke?" she asked after a time. She wanted to understand who these children were in relation to her old friends. "For how long?"

Ururu didn't answer, but Ginta glared at her in return. "What's it to you?"

"I was just curious. Kisuke never really struck me as the adopting type," the older female answered with a shrug.

Ginta glared at her for a long time before he finally continued on his way. "Yeah, we're living with him. We have been for as long as we can remember."

"I see...well I'm glad he can be there for you," Yukiko expressed softly.

"Tch, whatever," Ginta grumbled. "What are you doing anyway? I didn't hear any plans from any of you."

"Oh, well you know Ichigo Kurosaki, right?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah."

"I plan on attending his high school starting tomorrow," she answered with a smile. "It'll be nice to see him again."

"You friends with carrot top?" Ginta asked scathingly. "Well whatever. Just don't go causing problems for us like he does."

"Heh, I'll try," she agreed with a small giggle.

"We're here, Ume. Here's the key for room 25 and here's the information you need for tomorrow," Ururu cut in as she stopped in front of an apartment building. She held the keys up to Yukiko who took them and started for the building.

"Thanks a lot, Ginta, Ururu," she called out. "Maybe I'll see you two later. You kids are cute after all."

"Who you calling cute?!" Ginta demanded.

Yukiko chuckled again before disappearing inside. It didn't take her long to find her room, and when she did she made sure there was an area fully clear on the floor where she sat and began to meditate.

 _"You didn't waste any time did you,"_ the little Nightingale muttered the moment she closed her eyes. _"Are you this eager or desperate?"_

 _"Funny,"_ Yukiko grumbled walking down the hallway to one of the hundreds of doors before her. _"Look, the sooner I get started on this the sooner I'll be able to put all of it behind me."_

 _"You do realize that chances of completely getting over this are slim to none,"_ Soyokaze pointed out.

 _"I know...but I want to make sure I can at least talk to my three man support group here,"_ the ex-soul reaper stated firmly. _"I'm going to need their help if something happens. I need to know I'm not going to snap at them when the time comes."_

 _"I know, Yukiko,"_ the sword spirit replied softly. _"You do have other things you should take care of though."_

 _"I'll do that either later tonight or tomorrow,"_ Yukiko stated firmly. _"Now, let's start with Youruichi."_

* * *

Yukiko spent the remainder of the day shut in her apartment room attempting to go through each memory regarding the three souls she'd had breakfast with. Unfortunately, she was unable to get very far with any of them, rendering her utterly exhausted and on edge. So much so that she woke after only four hours of sleep.

 _"Well, might as well grab breakfast and get my necessary shopping done,"_ she grumbled to her sword spirit as she got up and rinsed herself off. She'd sweat a little too much over the last several hours thanks to the meditation and attempt at sleep.

She glanced around her room for seemingly the first time, taking in the one room apartment in full. To her left was a twin bed shoved all the way against the wall, to her right was a small desk with a lamp a top it and a window behind it, and directly in front of her she could see the sink, oven, refrigerator and counter tops that made up her kitchen, and a set of doors. One led to the bathroom and the other was a coat closet.

 _"So, what I'm going to need is a lot of water, something I can easily snack on after a long meditation, a few clothes that are not a uniform, and bathroom supplies,"_ she listed off as she focused on each area in turn. _"Am I missing anything?"_

 _"Other than a clock to keep track of time, I don't think so,"_ Soyokaze answered. _"Just make sure you aren't late for your first day. You are supposed to be relaxing during the day after all."_

 _"I know."_

She quickly grabbed the few items she'd taken with her and left the apartment, shooting a text to Urahara as she went. Moments later she received a reply with a list of stores within walking distance to her that should have what she needed. She silently thanked him for the information, and for the phone. It had been in the pocket of her skirt when she put the gigai on and he'd explained its functions over the meal they shared.

With the new information in hand, she was able to grab everything she needed and drop it off at her apartment with plenty of time left to reach the high school. She was grateful to Ururu for supplying the school information, which she looked over as she walked. Luckily for her, the way to the school was fairly peaceful. There were few cars on the road this early in the morning and a few other students were walking along the same path as her.

In next to no time she was at the gate to the school and shielded her eyes from the sun as she inspected the outside of it. It was smaller than the academy she went to in soul society and much less tree filled. But the building seemed welcoming enough and she smiled at it. It would be interesting going back to a school, one that wouldn't hate her because of lack of control.

She shook her head, clearing her mind of the memories before heading inside. She moved down one hallway after another looking for the class number written on her sheet. When she found it, she glanced through the little window catching the eye of the teacher inside. The female teacher walked to the door and pulled it open for her and smiled warmly.

"You must be Miss Umehito, please come inside and introduce yourself to the class," she greeted.

Yukiko nodded and stepped inside before bowing to the group of students in front of her. "I'm Ume Umehito. It's a pleasure to meet you all." After that she looked up and scanned the room.

Right away she spotted Ichigo who didn't look too surprised to see her. She reasoned that Urahara must have explained what was happening with her. Good. He did seem to have bandages around his head and she wondered what happened. Scanning the room further, she located Uryu and internally chuckled at the surprised look on his face. Strange though, Chad and Orihime weren't there. She was sure she'd heard they all went to the same class.

Just as she was finishing her scan of the room, her eyes settled on one last person. He was a blonde boy sitting next to Ichigo with all his teeth showing despite not actually smiling. She could see shocked recognition in his eyes which only served to confirm her suspicions. Instantly her heart seized up and her breathing all but stopped. Her ears began to ring as she continued to stare at the boy.

 _"Captain Hirako..."_

* * *

Shippoman: And so she comes into contact with the first of the eight missing soul reapers, and it's not getting off to a great start. How will this reunion pan out and just how upset will he be that she's there? Stay tuned to find out and please remember to R&R.


	9. Chapter 9

Shippoman: Sorry about last week, I was super busy and unable to get this chapter finished in time. It's a little longer this time so I hope it's alright, but at the very least you should all be happy by the end.

Now ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Chapter 9:

"Good morning, Ichigo!"

Shinji moved closer to the wall as the very loud Keigo greeted the orange haired teen. It always amazed him how Ichigo could put up with someone that irritating, but then he thought about his own irritating life and shrugged. Maybe it wasn't that hard. After all, he had to deal with Hiyori and Mashiro on a daily basis. In fact, his current foul mood was because his monkey-like companion had forced him to return to the high school, again.

The day before, two arrancar made an appearance and fought with the orange haired teen and his friends. He was the only one of the three that was cleared to return to school, though the bandages he had on his head and arms told how bad the fight had been. He was sure that it wouldn't be much longer before the teen sought their help. There was no reason for him to be there any longer.

Despite this, he was still was forced to come.

"Morning, Hirako."

Shinji's internal thoughts were halted and he turned to see two of the females from his class smiling at him. He instantly smiled back and wrapped an arm around each of them. Although he couldn't remember their names, he knew it would be such a shame not to respond. Especially since they were really cute.

"Good morning!" he exclaimed happily. "And how are you doing today?"

"Good," the one on the left answered with a giggle. "You ready for the quiz today?"

Shinji groaned having forgotten all about it. "That's right, it's today isn't it."

"Yep, hope you prepared yourself," the one on the right added.

After that they went inside the classroom and the blond followed. He took his seat beside Ichigo and waited for the class to start, greeting the other students as they too entered the room. It was going to be a long and boring day for him, especially since he didn't even have the voluptuous Orihime to ease his boredom.

Luckily, at that moment, the teacher walked in and started taking role call. When she finished, she looked over the list again and shook her head.

"Looks like we have another new student today," she announced as she looked toward the door before moving toward it. "Miss Umehito? Come on in and introduce yourself to the class."

Shinji snickered to himself at the name. Umehito, what kind of person had a stupid name like that? He started to lean back in his chair watching the girl before the class enter and write her name on the board. Her dark red hair was long and pretty and he thought he caught the scent of plum blossoms. Then as she started to turn around, he saw the name written on the board.

"My name is Ume Umehito, it's nice to meet you all."

Shinji was so stunned he nearly tipped over in his chair. The girl before him was someone he hadn't seen in so long, he was beginning to believe he'd never see her face again. Yet here she stood. Then her eyes met his and he felt his breath stop. Her eyes betrayed the deeply ingrained pain and sorrow she was trying to hide with her smile. He noticed her eyes widen slightly in recognition before her lips began to tremble and her hands clenched at her side.

"Umehito?" The teacher called the girl's attention, and all the tension within her vanished.

"Yes?"

"You can take the seat between Mr. Asano and Mr. Hirako."

"Alright then."

The girl walked down the rows of desks until she was at the empty one beside Shinji who was looking right at her. He had so many questions for her but didn't want anyone present to hear them. However, she never once looked his way, not for the rest of the class. Still he watched her every move. The way she wrote, her responses to the people around her, everything. All of it was wrong.

Finally the class came to an end and as expected she was immediately bombarded by questions from the other students. She forced a smile on her face and answered, however she could. Eventually he had enough waiting and approached her.

"It's been a long time Yukiko," he greeted, showing all his teeth with his smile.

"Hirako," she returned slowly. "It has been...a long time."

"Wait, you know him, Ume?" Keigo exclaimed in amazement.

"Yeah, and why'd he call you Yukiko?" Chizuru asked in confusion.

"We used to have the same class in middle school," Yukiko answered with a shrug. "That's a nickname he gave me back then. I still don't get why and even though I've told him not to, he still uses it."

"What can I say, no matter how much time passes, you'll always be Yukiko to me," Shinji laughed without missing a beat. "Anyway I was hoping you and I could use these minutes between classes to catch up. Maybe swap a few stories?"

She sighed but got to her feet and addressed the other students. "Well he does have a point," she admitted. "And he won't leave me alone until I do, so I'll get it over with now. Be right back!"

After she bid farewell to the students, the two walked side by side talking back and forth about "old times". As soon as they were in an area where no one else was, however, Yukiko stopped and leaned against a wall.

"You can drop it now. What is it you really wanted, Captain Hirako?" she asked, her voice hard and cold.

"Well for starters, I'm not a captain anymore so just call me Shinji," the blond male stated firmly. Yukiko didn't respond to this so he continued. "I want to know how long you've been out and why the hell you thought it best not to tell us."

"Tch, that it? I haven't been out long, I was freed when Ichigo came to the soul society. And as for why you weren't told? I asked Kisuke and Youruichi not to. I didn't think I was ready to face you again, Captain Hirako...and I was right."

"I said call me Shinji. And anyway what do you mean you can't face us?"

Yukiko glared at him for a moment before closing her eyes and letting her crossed arms fall to her sides. As soon as she released them he could see. She'd been holding them still, without them hanging on to each other they began shaking; almost as if she was about to have a seizure.

"Wha...?" he started to ask, concerned by what he was seeing.

"I was trapped by him for a long time...far too long," she answered taking long, deep breaths every break. It was clear to Shinji that she was trying to keep herself calm. "After everything I went through...I can't be around people I knew. Why do you think I came here? Just being able to see you is enough to tear at my mind. The images, the memories of what happened over those years are always threatening to break loose... Even now as I speak, I can feel that part of me screaming to run, to get as far away from you as I can. I know you're not a threat...but I just can't...I can't focus on that."

Shinji was worried as she moved a shaking hand to her head, her voice starting to speed up, and even cracking from the strain of holding herself together. He knew that after being trapped by Aizen for as long as she was, she wasn't coming out unscathed...but even he didn't expect it to be this bad. "Yukiko..." he murmured softly.

"Please...Hirako, for my sake," she pleaded leaning against the wall for support and rubbing her forehead. "Don't approach me until I'm ready."

They lapsed into silence as he helplessly watched his past teammate crumbling before him. "I promise," he whispered, then he reached forward, placing a hand on her shaking shoulder.

Yukiko jerked away from the touch almost instantly and clutched her head with both hands as the building pressure within her own mind became too much. "I can't...I don't want any more pain," she cried, tears sliding down her cheeks. "It's too much. He's going to be so mad at me for being here. I shouldn't be here!"

"Yukiko, what are you talking about?" Shinji asked taking a step back to avoid touching her again. He realized immediately that making the contact only made the situation worse. "You need to calm down."

Her eyes were wide and she was panting heavily as she cowered against the wall, not having the strength of will to look at him anymore. "No more...I don't want to be punished anymore." Then suddenly, her frightened eyes locked onto him, full of resignation. Her hands slowly moved to her side, and closed as if they were gripping something. "I have to go back to him. I have to go back to Sousuke."

Shinji felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. He'd never heard her use the man's first name before. And seeing the fear and uncertainty directed at him mad it worse. The woman before him was utterly broken.

"Ume!" Shinji was startled by the voice and turned to see Ichigo hurrying toward them. He looked pissed despite his previous depression. The blond attempted to block the carrot-top's way but was easily side stepped. To his surprise, the teen went right up to the shuddering, fearful girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Ume?" he asked worriedly.

Almost instantly the shaking and muttering stopped and she looked up at him with clearing eyes. "Y-Yeah, thanks Ichigo." She straightened up and looked back at the confused blonde sternly. "Shinji, I hope you can understand now why I said I wasn't ready," she murmured. "So please, just keep your promise." With that, the young female turned on her heel and marched off.

The other two waited until she was out of sight before moving. Shinji was about to follow after her, but Ichigo grabbed his caller and pushed him against the wall. "I don't know what your deal is with Ume, but stay away from her. She doesn't need you adding to her triggers."

Shinji stared silently at Ichigo for a long while sizing up the teen with a frown. "What do you actually know about her?"

"Enough to know you shouldn't be anywhere near her."

"Like what?"

"None of your business. How do you even know her, Hirako?"

"None of your business," Shinji muttered in a snarky manner. "But I do know far more than you."

Ichigo bristled at his statement. "You have no idea what she's been through, recently. Just stay away from her."

At this point Shinji had had enough and jabbed the orange haired teen in the side, doubling him over. "Don't pretend that you know what she's been through. That girl never let's on to anyone exactly what's going on with her until she reaches a breaking point. Whatever she's told you, whatever you think you know is only scratching the surface." He turned away from the pained teen and began walking down the hall but paused after a few steps. "Besides you should really be worrying about yourself right now. You nearly got killed in that fight yesterday because of your hollow. Question is, will you do something about it...or let it finish taking over?"

With that he returned to the class to see Yukiko had gone back to talking to the other students like nothing happened. On closer inspection, however, he noticed the moment he walked in, her hands started shaking again. He silently clenched his fists and promised he'd beat Aizen for every action he took against the young female.

* * *

Yukiko smiled softly as she calmly breathed in and out. Before her stood her opponent, weapon in hand. Despite facing an armed foe she was calm and relaxed.

" _Wow,_ " she murmured to herself. " _This is completely different. I sense absolutely nothing from him...not even the killer's intent I'm used to_."

" _Did you really think they would?_ " Soyokaze replied. Although she wasn't expecting a reply, it didn't surprise her either. Most of her internal thoughts turned into full conversations after all. " _He's a human with very little spiritual energy. Even on your worst day he wouldn't pose a threat._ "

" _I know_ ," Yukiko murmured. " _That's why I'm happy. I can get in some practice without soul shattering fear_."

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted as her opponent's weapon hit her shoulder. She jumped at the contact and blinked a few times. When did the referee say start?

"Point!"

"Come on Ume, you can do it!"

Yukiko shifted a little. After taking a moment to remind herself what she was doing, she silenced her sword and again took a fighting stance. The wooden sword in her hands felt light as she face her opponent once more. This time, she quieted her mind and waited for the signal.

When it came, her opponent shot forward. To her, he appeared to be moving in slow motion. She watched as he stepped toward her, raised his weapon and brought it down at her head. It took her a moment to realize he was attacking as she was mesmerized by the slowness of his movement. Because of this she was barely able to get her own weapon up in time to defend.

His sword struck hers weakly and she easily brushed it aside and thrust the tip of her own into his chest.

"Point!"

"Way to go, Ume!"

Yukiko looked up to see her new friends cheering her. She smiled and lifted her gloved hand in acknowledgment. Then she returned to her combat stance. There would be one more bout; which would decide the winner of the match.

She once again took a deep breath and prepared herself. Moments later the referee called for them to start and they began to move. She was once again amazed by how slow her opponent seemed to move, but this time she didn't allow herself to be distracted by it. Instead she moved just enough to keep from being struck, marveling at how easy it was fighting against a mortal. Then she finally moved under his swinging blade and struck him across the chest.

"Point and match!"

"Wow, that was incredible, Ume!" Chizuru exclaimed as she and a few others ran up to the much older female. "I thought you said you'd never practiced Keno before."

Yukiko slowly removed the protective headgear she was wearing before sheepishly grinning at the rest. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was worried no one would want to face me if they knew the truth," she explained. "See...I used the live at a dojo and my father was a great teacher of the Kamiya* Style. I've been learning it since I was a kid."

The other students gawked at her and many didn't know how to respond to that. "Wow that's so cool," Keigo exclaimed excitedly. "Does that mean you could beat my sister?"

"Uh...I don't want to make any assumptions," Yukiko said quickly. She was 90% sure she could fairly easily, but didn't want to let on what her actual skill level was. "It has been awhile since the last time I sparred with anyone so I'd probably lose against someone that good."

"No way, you're really talented," a girl older than Keigo but with the same hair color. She took Yukiko's hands in hers and stared at her with pleading eyes. "I need you on the kendo team. You'll join right?"

The ex-soul reaper felt very out of place and slowly pulled her hands out of the other's. "Sorry, but I actually help my uncle out in his shop after school. Thanks for the invite though."

"Oh come on! You're the best fighter here," she argued.

Yukiko shook her head in reply. She glanced around and noticed that Keigo was deliberately avoiding them now and realized the woman before her was definitely his sister. "I'm really sorry. I can stop by during school hours but once it's over I have to leave."

The girl tried several more times to convince Yukiko to join the club but the older female wouldn't budge. She didn't have enough hours in the day to do school, clubs, and her nightly meditation. There wasn't enough time before the war to spend that much time at the school. Eventually she managed to convince the other to stop and was able to leave the matted room and head home.

It'd been a long day for her, grabbing some new clothes to wear when she wasn't at the school, seeing Shinji for the first time in 107 years, and nearly taking his head off after freaking out. She could still feel the burning desire to draw her sword and cut him down. If it hadn't been for Ichigo's timely arrival she would have.

Luckily Shinji went along with her request and didn't approach her the rest of the day. He didn't even speak to her unless she called out to him first. It also gave her a chance to alert a few of the other students to her mental state. She explained that her family died in a fire and that she had PTSD because of it. They were all very receptive and offered to help her anyway they could. She asked they just keep an eye out and if they see her shaking or muttering to herself that they should just say her name. They thought it was an odd request but were still willing to do so.

Now, she was sitting alone in her apartment trying very hard to sort through a set of memories and failing. Every few minutes she would snap her eyes open, panting heavily from the mental strain the exercise put her under. She just kept thinking about her encounter with Shinji which only added to the difficulty of her task. If she was able to run into him so easily there was a good chance that she'd run into the others. Something she wanted to avoid if at all possible.

" _Yukiko, it's getting late_ ," the nightingale murmured softly. " _You should really head to bed now_."

" _I know...I didn't make any progress tonight though_ ," Yukiko grumbled back as she returned to her feet and began to change. " _Wasn't coming here supposed to help? It seems to only be making it worse_."

" _You're just saying that because of Shinji_ ," Soyokaze pointed out. " _You weren't expecting to run into him so it took you by surprise and you're paying for it now. But now that you know he's at the school you can brace yourself and simply focus your attention elsewhere_."

" _It's not that simple, Soyokaze_ ," the young soul reaper muttered. " _Even if I don't see him or can't feel him...I still know he's there. I can still sense when he's watching me. It's difficult to relax. If I'd know he was in that class I would have gone somewhere else and just let Ichigo know I was there separately_."

Soyokaze sighed and shook her head. " _He's agreeing so far to leave you alone, don't make his mere presence more of an issue than it is_ ," she scolded. " _If you quit thinking about him being there you'll hardly notice it_."

Yukiko didn't think it'd be that easy and said as much, but still she agreed to give it a try and slipped into an uneasy sleep, both dreading and looking forward to tomorrow.

* * *

For the next couple days, things went rather smoothly at the school. She was able to make it through her classes without paying too much attention to Shinji. Her new friends kept her busy too, when she wasn't working on school work, and she was able to meet a girl with short dark hair that came in her third day there. He name was Tasuki and she'd apparently been in recovery for a few days. Yukiko was pretty sure it had something to do with why Ichigo was injured but didn't press it with either of them.

On the other hand, she was still unable to make any progress in her meditations at night. Her mind was too distracted, she couldn't relax when she was alone and each time she started the process only tore her apart further. Because of this she began trying to think of something she could do to keep herself calm when she was alone.

That's what led her to making a phone call as soon as she was out of school. "Hey, Kisuke, sorry to bother you," she murmured as soon as he picked up the other line. "No nothing's wrong. I was just hoping you could help me find something." She waited as her friend replied before continuing. "I was hoping you'd know where I could find a Plum Blossom. The scent, the plant, anything really." She was sure she heard him laugh on the other end, probably thinking about when she was a part of squad 9. But he eventually gave her a few directions to place he knew. "Thanks, Kisuke. I owe you one."

After that she hung up and began following the street, looking for the points Kisuke used to mark where she was supposed to turn. Eventually she came upon a little shop filled with plants of different sorts. It was a sensory overload as she stepped inside and she had to shake her head to recover from the sudden saturation of smells.

The shop wasn't very big, but the space available was filled to the brim with plants of various sizes and colors. "Can I help you with something?" Yukiko looked around trying to find the source of the voice and finally spotted a short old woman standing behind the counter. Her head was mostly blocked by the plants sitting on top of the counter, making it difficult to see her.

"Yes, I was hoping to find some plum blossoms," the ex-soul reaper answered with a smile.

"Ah, plum blossoms. Are you seeking some sort of peace?" the woman asked.

"Yes, something like that," Yukiko agreed.

"In that case, follow me," the woman murmured, moving away from the counter and walking farther into the maze of plants. The younger woman nodded and followed after her, taking in the different plants as they moved. "As it so happens, I only have one plum blossom available at the moment, though if you want I can order a few more for you."

"That would be lovely," Yukiko murmured, noticing the shop owner hadn't turned around to speak. Instead she just kept moving forward, her eyes seemingly closed as if she didn't need to see to know where she was going.

"Here we are," she said after a few moments of walking and searching. She stood up and handed the potted plant over to the young woman. "Will that be everything?"

"Yes, how much for the blossoms?"

"500 yen," the woman answered holding out her hand.

Yukiko nodded and pulled out the specified amount of money from her pocket. She was glad that Urahara had opted to give her a weekly allowance while she was in the world of the living...an amount she had every intention of paying back once she returned to her duties...if she returned that is.

After she paid the shop owner, and signed a paper the woman would use to order more plants, she thanked her and headed out the door. The one plant in her hand gave off the soft scent she knew all too well. Just as it had in the past, she could feel her muscles and mind relaxing. She would need more if she wanted that apartment room to be a haven from the rest of both worlds. As she stood outside, she lifted the plant to her face and inhaled deeply, feeling the tension within her drift away even more.

"Too bad there isn't an orchard I can go sit in like in soul society," she murmured to herself. "Oh well, I should head home and try the meditation once more. Hopefully I'll make some measurable headway this time."

She smiled to herself and walked around to the back of the shop through an alleyway, taking a short cut back to her apartment. Just as she was exiting the alleyway, she bumped into someone and lost her grip on the potted plant. To her surprise, the person she'd bumped into managed to catch it before it hit the ground and held it out.

"Sorry...here," the person growled. Yukiko followed her line of sight from the plant, up the burly bare arms, to a well-toned chest wrapped in a purple tank top and finally the head, covered with really short silver hair and a piercing in the left eyebrow; which was lifted in a never ending scowl.

For the second time in a week, Yukiko felt her heart seize up and her breath catch in her throat. The man before her was overbearing, and seemed to tower over her. Tears started sliding down both cheeks in a steady stream. Her body was shaking and screaming at her to flee, to defend herself, something, anything. But all she could manage was to stand there and stare, in her panicked state. She could see his eyes widen slightly as their eyes met and a single word slid past his lips...nearly shattering the shaking doors within her.

"Yukiko..."

* * *

Shippoman: The time has finally come. 107 years of separation and the two are finally able to see each other again. But with Yukiko nearly breaking all over again just seeing him, is there anyway for them to start over? Stay tuned to find out, and remember to R&R.


	10. Chapter 10

Shippoman: I just want to give a shout out to all of you that review for this story. Thanks for your encouragement, it makes it that much easier to want to keep this story going. I'll be going back to a every other week posting for this to give me more time to figure out how to portray the rest of this story. Hope you like what's to come.

* * *

Chapter 10:

*Crash!*

It was late afternoon when Kensei entered the main living area of the Vizard headquarters. He'd been training with Hachigen in the space beneath their warehouse but decided enough was enough when Hiyori entered with her usual horrible temper. She wouldn't shut up so he decided to leave. As he neared the top of the stairs, he heard something shatter and rushed up the last few steps to see what happened.

As soon as everyone came into view, he realized what the source of the commotion was. Mashiro was lying on the floor rocking back and forth and kicking her feet in anger. Next to her lay the remains of a shattered lamp. Something she obviously knocked over in her tantrum. Not surprising, everyone was simply ignoring her instead of trying to get her to stop. Love was sitting in a corner of the room reading one of his graphic novels, Rose was brushing through Lisa's hair and returning it to its usual braid while she looked at a swimsuit magazine, and Shinji was lying on his back on the couch with his hat pulled low over his eyes.

"What is it this time?" he growled standing over the whining woman, radiating irritation.

"I think it's something about food," Love muttered from his corner.

Kensei looked over at the green haired girl ignoring the thing she was repeating as she threw her tantrum. She was so irritating, always acting like a child. He used to believe she'd grow out of it eventually, but gave up on that thought after the first 50 years with her.

"I know, why don't the two of you grab dinner tonight," Shinji suggested as he sat up from his spot on the couch. "It is your turn after all."

Kensei glowered at the blond male. He hated taking Mashiro anywhere, and food shopping was the worst; scratch that, underwear shopping was. Still, better to bring her along than allow her to remain and break something else in her hunger tantrum.

He was about to concede when he noticed something about the taller and thinner male. It was small and didn't last long, but the man suddenly seemed to be looking at him in concern or nervousness. The burly silver haired man had to admit the other had been acting strange the past couple of days, but only really when it came to him.

"On second though...I'll do you a solid and take care of it myself," Shinji offered as he straightened his shirt. "I'll even take Mashiro off your hands."

"Didn't you take charge of the food run yesterday?" Kensei asked suspiciously.

Now he noticed something else. Ever since he came back from the school three days prior, he'd been doing all the food runs. In fact Shinji had been volunteering for all the errands that required the others to go into town. He was hiding something...

"Don't bother," he growled marching over to the kicking Mashiro and dragging her to her feet. "Mashiro, let's go."

"Yay!" the green haired girl exclaimed jumping up and down in her excitement. "Hey, Kensei, can we get some ice cream while we're out?"

"If it'll shut you up then fine," he growled back.

"You're so mean," she whined sticking her tongue out at him as they headed for the exit.

"Do that again and you won't get anything."

"Stupid, mean, Kensei," she pouted crossing her arms. "I bet Shinji would let me."

By this time they'd already made it outside and Kensei had lost his temper. "If you don't like it, then go back inside and get nothing!" he shouted at her.

The moment he finished speaking, he realized she was already halfway down the street and almost out of sight. She'd, of course, completely ignored him. Typical...

"Come on, Kensei!" she called out waving her arm back and forth. "I'm starving!"

Kensei was seriously contemplating tying her up somewhere for a week to show her what starving actually felt like, but decided against it. No bonds in existence would be able to hold her back for an entire week. It'd be a complete waste of effort.

Instead, he followed the hyperactive woman all the way to the store where he handed her a small amount of money and told her she could buy whatever she wanted with it. He then went around and grabbed the actual groceries. What they were low on, what the guys requested to eat, and what he wanted that night. Not surprising, he finished long before the indecisive Mashiro and decided to park himself outside the store and wait.

Just outside the door he had a decent view of the setting sun. It wasn't something he normally paid much attention to, but for some reason he couldn't look away from this one. No, he knew the reason. It reminded him of another he watched with a certain woman...long ago.

As he watched the sky change colors, his mind began to drift, conjuring up images of the woman in question. Her short red hair, gently brushing against pale cheeks, her green eyes turned to him in a soft smile, while the kimono she wore flapped slightly in the gentle breeze. It was a perfect memory. He could even remember how her voice sounded...and how she smelled of plum blossoms all the time; he could even smell them now.

A few moments later, he looked around himself as a thought occurred to him. He actually could smell plum blossoms. But where was the smell coming from? He looked this way and that trying to figure out why he was smelling the plant when he remembered that on the other end of the alley a few doors down, was an arboretum filled with all sorts of plants. Thinking of her must have made him focus on the one somehow...how irritating.

Kensei shifted a little in his place wondering what was taking Mashiro so long when he suddenly started hearing humming. It was soft, and at first he didn't think he was hearing anything, but then he realized the sound was coming from the very alley he'd been looking at...the alley where the smell of plum blossoms was growing stronger. Coming toward him.

He took a few confused steps toward it, setting the food he had in his hands down on the sidewalk, until he heard the humming once more. It was a voice all too familiar; one he thought he'd never hear again.

Suddenly he was rushing to the alley, unable to fully believe what his mind had pieced together. "It can't be her," he thought trying to keep himself from getting his hopes up. "They would have said something if she was free." He kept repeating this to himself until he was at the mouth of the alley and collided with a body.

Right away he realized he'd knocked something out of the person's hands and dipped to catch it before it hit the ground. It was a plant...a plum blossom. "S-sorry!" the person exclaimed. He doubt they realized they'd said anything by the tone and turned his eyes toward them.

They were wearing a school uniform, the same one assigned to Ichigo's school if he wasn't mistaken. He already knew it was probably a woman based on the voice, but the skirt more than confirmed this. His eyes moved upward, noticing the size of the chest; though he pushed that aside. Then the long strands of red hair that hung over top of them. It was a familiar shade that led his eyes all the way up to a pair of green eyes.

The moment his eyes met hers he knew. It was her, the girl he'd all but given up hope of ever seeing again. The girl he felt he'd let down, the one he lost so long ago. She was standing before him her eyes widening with recognition. Time seemed to stand still for him, and all he could think about was seeing her smile, or hearing her voice say his name.

Instead, he felt hers leave his lips. "Yukiko..."

He couldn't believe what was in front of his eyes. There were so many things he wanted to say and do, but nothing happened. They just continued staring at each other unmoving as if under some sort of spell.

Then all at once the spell ended as a mass collided with the red head knocking her to the ground. "Ume!" Mashiro shouted happily as she tackled the other. "I knew I felt you a few days ago! I was right. Everyone's gonna be so happy to see you!"

"Mashiro?" Yukiko murmured in a rather stunned voice. "It's good to see you too."

"Hm...were you crying?" Mashiro asked sitting up and looking her over. She could see a few tears left in her eyes.

Yukiko quickly wiped them up. "I-I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

The weight of the woman suddenly disappeared as Kensei lifted the green haired girl off of her. The collision had given him enough time to pull himself together. "Where's the food, Mashiro?" he demanded as soon as the other was on her feet.

"Right where you left it, Kensei meanie!" she answered sticking her tongue out at him.

"Go grab it before someone else does," he growled. "We have to get back."

"You just want to be alone with, Ume," Mashiro pouted. "I missed her too you know."

Yukiko smiled to herself at the exchanged and managed to stifle the chuckle she wanted to let loose. Kensei, on the other hand, just glared at his lieutenant who eventually scurried down the road.

"She could have stayed, you know," Yukiko murmured getting back onto her feet. She was still shaken from the sudden encounter, but was quickly putting herself back together.

"No...not for this," he muttered slowly. Kensei turned to look the red head over, pleased to see she was really in front of him. Her scent, her eyes, and her voice all confirming what his mind wanted to be true. "When did you get here?"

"A few days ago," Yukiko answered, forcefully keeping down everything that wanted to come out. "Look, Kensei, I know you have a lot of questions, but right now isn't the best time. I really need for you to..."

Without warning, his free hand shot out and gripped her shoulder pulling her into his chest. He wanted to say something that would let her know how much it tore him up that he hadn't been there to protect her that day, that he hadn't saved her in the years after, but nothing came out. What he hadn't expected, was her reaction to his move.

The instant he grabbed her and she was pressed against his body, her own went into a terrified frenzy. Despite her and Soyokaze's efforts, the door to her memories of Kensei shattered and a flood of images surged through her weakened mind. The fear she'd been feeling skyrocketed and before she knew it, she'd recoiled so violently that she was against the opposite wall of the alley, squatting on the ground with tears flowing endlessly down her cheeks, and her hands pressing against either side of her head in a desperate attempt to protect herself.

Kensei saw her reaction and felt his anger begin to boil. He could still feel her body shiver under his touch and jerk away from him while she released a frightened screech. He didn't know what to do when she folded against the alley wall, muttering incoherently as she balled and kept herself turned away from him.

"Ume! Kensei meanie what did you do?" The ex-captain turned to see Mashiro had returned with their groceries and instantly rushed to Yukiko's side as she continued to cry and mutter in her curled up position. "You made her cry...You made Ume cry you big meanie!"

Kensei didn't say anything in his defense. He realized that her current state was because of what he'd done, but the only thing his mind could wrap around was that this was a result of whatever Aizen had done. This is what she'd been reduced to after 107 years of torture...torture they could have stopped but did nothing about. It was eating him up inside.

Mashiro punched Kensei in the arm for making her friend cry, before turning back to Yukiko and stroking her shaking back lightly. "It's okay, Ume, the big meanie won't hurt you anymore," she crooned worriedly.

As she spoke words of encouragement, Yukiko slowly began to stop shivering and look up. "M-Mashiro...thanks," she murmured after a time. Then she cautiously returned to her feet and gave her head a quick shake, running a hand through her hair. "I should go..."

"But you have to come with us to spar," Mashiro argued. She felt it was all Kensei's fault her old friend decided not to go with them.

Yukiko chuckled reluctantly. "Mashiro, I promise I'll come by another time to spar with you," she murmured, forcing a smile on her face. "But right now I can't...I'm sorry." Then she moved toward Kensei and took the plant from him, inhaling the scent deeply. It calmed her exceptionally frayed nerves and she looked back at him. "I want to see everyone again, but I'm not ready. Until I am...just stay away from me...please."

With that, she turned and walked out of the alley way back toward her apartment. The instant she was out of sight she sprinted as fast as she could the rest of the way. Tears slid down her cheeks the entire time she moved as her sword explained the damage the encounter had left her with. A shattered door that would need to be replaced, and memories of death and pain chipping at the other doors. She'd fully broken down in front of the man she'd been in love with for years, she'd pulled away from his embrace, she'd hurt him.

The moment she reached her apartment, she set the plum blossom down on the night stand and collapsed onto her bed, crying hard. She'd wanted to avoid encountering him until she felt she could return a hug from him, or at least accept one. But it had backfired horribly. The look in his eye when she'd finally been able to look at him again was unbearable. She'd really hurt him and because of that her cruel mind cried out that a relationship with with him would be utterly impossible now.

* * *

The door to the Vizard warehouse nearly flew off its hinges as Kensei stormed inside. He was beyond pissed and looking for the source of his anger, spotting him lounging on the only couch available. In moments, he was across the room and had the blond by the collar up against the wall while startled exclamations filled the air.

"Woah, calm down, Kensei," Love muttered carefully, getting to his feet slowly and setting his book down on his chair. "Whatever Mashiro did wasn't his fault."

"That's not it!" Kensei growled dangerously. He wanted to let out all his anger and frustration onto the man before him. But for whatever reason he couldn't think of the words he needed to do just that.

Instead he glared at Shinji, his hand shaking and a vein pulsing on his temple. As he glared, he saw the other man's eyes go from mild confusion to understanding. He knew exactly why Kensei was so pissed and did nothing to protect himself. This just proved to piss the larger ex-captain off. But before he could say a word, a shout drew everyone's attention taking away any need for him to speak.

"Guess who we saw in town!" Mashiro exclaimed happily, as she pranced around the warehouse. "I bet you'll never guess!"

"You're right, we give up," Lisa answered without looking up from her swimsuit magazine; as she realized no one else wanted to play the guessing game with her either.

"Ah, you're no fun," the green haired woman pouted. But she quickly got over it and grinned once more. "It was Ume! She looked great, though Kensei made her cry. Meanie. But she promised to come spar with me soon. I can't wait!"

At this, the other occupants of the room turned to look at Kensei who still had Shinji pinned to the wall. "Is this true, Kensei?" Rose asked with a look of cautious hope in his eyes. He had obviously finished fixing Lisa's hair as he now had a violin in his hands. "Is she really free?"

Kensei didn't answer, but he did finally release the other's collar and turn away.

"Tch, if that's the case, why didn't Kisuke or Youruichi say anything?" Hiyori demanded in irritation. She and Hachigen were just coming up from the training room after they heard the two Vaizards' return. "They were supposed to let us know the moment they knew."

Kensei clenched his fists as the others spoke and fought the urge to drive one of them into Shinji's face. He was wondering the same thing, and what made it worse was that the blond obviously knew about it as well. Question was, why didn't he bring it up either. Sure the blond had been her captain in the end, but he was her...he was going to... He couldn't finish the thought and instead slammed a shaking fist into the wall, causing the structure to crack under the strain.

"So, how long have you known, Shinji?" Love asked out of the blue. His eyes shot between the blond and silver haired Vaizard, expecting the latter to seriously damage the other.

The blond sighed and picked his hat off the ground where it'd fallen, brushed it off, then put it back onto his head. "I've only known for three days," he answered before striding over to the couch and plopping down once more. "According to Kisuke, she's been free since Ichigo's invasion of the Soul Society."

"Why the hell didn't they say anything?" Kensei demanded, finally turning toward the rest of the group. He wanted answers, and the only way he was getting anything was if he stayed calm long enough to hear them.

At first, Shinji didn't seem to have heard him as he pulled the hat further over his face. Then he sat up enough to look over at the still dancing Mashiro. "Hey, Mashiro, you said she was going to spar with your right," he asked. "Maybe you should go get some practice in then."

"That's right!" the woman exclaimed. "Thanks, Shinji!" Then she ran off to the underground training area.

Shinji waited until she was well out of earshot before settling his gaze on the rest. "Look, I went to talk to them after Yukiko walked into Ichigo's classroom," he began. "They said they decided to wait for her to decide as to whether or not we should know. When they asked her, she requested we not be alerted. Not until she was ready anyway."

"Ready for what, exactly?" Rose asked curiously.

Shinji met Kensei's gaze and nodded. "You understand, since you saw her," he pointed out. "She's not in a proper mental state to be meeting with any of us right now. She's trying to properly recover, but as of right now any direct interaction from us will only hinder her progress. That's why I agreed not to say anything either."

"Ha, I doubt she's that bad off," Hiyori scoffed crossing her arms in front of her.

"What is her current state, Shinji?" Lisa cut in. She understood that it would be impossible for Yukiko to be in perfect condition, but wanted to know just how bad it was.

"Honestly I'm not sure," he responded. "What I do know, is she is unable to speak with anyone from that time without potentially having a breakdown. Youruichi mentioned that in Soul Society, she freaked out and nearly attacked Unohana when it reached that breaking point. But Youruichi did mention that she's doing better than she did when she first woke up."

"Hmm...so you're saying we should wait to see her," Love spoke up.

Shinji nodded and relaxed back on the cushions once again. "She asked that we wait until she's ready to come to us," he answered. "Her gigai should make it easy to check in on her without her noticing, but direct contact would probably have a negative effect. You can relax though, the fact she promised Mashiro she'd come spar means she has every intention of visiting"

"Works for me," Love grumbled going back to his book.

"I suppose there is no point in rushing," Rose agreed, tuning the instrument in his hands. "We've waited this long, I believe we can wait a little longer."

"Tch, the idiot can do what she wants," Hiyori muttered before disappearing into the underground training facility. Hachigen was right behind her, sighing heavily. He'd tried to make a few comments during the discussion but no one seemed to have noticed. So he decided to bring them up again later.

Once they'd all gone back to their business and Shinji relaxed back on the couch, Kensei stormed up to his room. He knew Shinji was right about giving Yukiko some space, but he hated it. She was so close, and yet he still couldn't feel her form beneath his hands, hear her voice saying his name, nor have her scent wrap around him like it once had. He'd lost the chance to have any of that when he transferred her to another squad; now it looked as if despite her return, that opportunity would never come again.

* * *

Shippoman: So much for a happy reunion. Yukiko is falling apart as fast as she can repair the damage and Kensei is as impatient as ever. How long with the wait and see plan work? Stay tuned to find out. Please remember to R&R. ;p


	11. Chapter 11

Shippoman: Sorry about the long wait. I've had a very long two months and major writers block because of it. Don't worry, the rest of the chapters should come more often. I hopefully will be returning to a once a week or every two weeks. Anyway, on with the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 11:

Lisa paused in her trek on top of a roof. She had to take a moment to sense the energies around her in order to make sure she was heading in the right direction. When she was satisfied, she continued on until she came upon a small apartment complex. Here she looked through each of the windows until she found what she was looking for.

Sitting in the middle of the floor of a one room apartment was a young woman with long dark red hair. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady so Lisa was sure she was busy meditating, especially since a zankaptou was sitting on the woman's lap. The Vaizard watched the woman for a long time, taking in all there was and smiling to herself.

"You haven't changed a bit," she murmured to herself. "Well, your hair's a bit longer, but that's it."

Then all at once, she watched the girl lurch forward, her hands moving to cover her face. After a few moments, she pulled her hands away revealing a twin set of tears, streaming down her cheeks. She was panting heavily and she held one hand to her forehead, rubbing it lightly.

"Oh, Yukiko," Lisa murmured softly. "What did you see?"

To her surprise, the doorbell sounded, interrupting her silent contemplation of the woman and she zipped around to see who came to pay the girl a visit. When she reached the other side, she spotted the long purple hair of Youruichi.

"Yukiko, are you awake?" she called out.

Moments later, the door slowly slid open and the ex-soul reaper in question answered. "Y-Youruichi, what brings you here?" she asked wiping the remaining tears off her cheeks. Her hands were shaking slightly and she looked like she was going to be sick.

"I came to check on you," she answered easily. "I heard you had a run in with Kensei. How are you holding up?"

Yukiko seemed to freeze for a moment before collapsing to the floor. Youruichi knelt down to be close to her as well. "I hurt him," the younger woman seemed to whimper. "I was so happy to see him...and so scared. I couldn't do anything...I nearly shattered all over again." As the last word left her lips, it was accompanied by soft sobs that robbed her ability to speak any more.

Youruichi held the younger woman's shaking shoulders, rubbing her back to try and soothe her pain. They waited in silence until she was able to stop her sobs and sit up again.

"I feel like nothing I'm doing is working," she confided. "Coming here was supposed to help, but I feel like I'm getting worse. What am I supposed to do?"

"Yukiko, the fact you feel you can say all this to me is proof you're progressing, at least a small amount," Youruichi told her reassuringly. "Just because you're unable to deal with them yet doesn't mean you're regressing. So don't lose hope. Just keep fighting and you'll succeed. You're stronger than this after all."

At this point Lisa felt she'd seen enough. She felt she understood more of what Kensei and the others had been talking about. Yukiko had indeed been torn apart, but the Vaizard could see the woman still had plenty of herself left over. So she took her leave and returned to the old warehouse. If nothing else, she felt confident that the girl would be visiting them very soon.

* * *

The next day went by far too fast to Yukiko. One moment she was entering the school and able to forget everything from the night before, and the next she was back. In the very room that acted as a respite from hiding her emotions from the world...and a lonely reminder of everything that was working to crush her. Especially now, as every time she was alone, her mind would return to the encounter she had with her first captain. Remembering his pained expression made it near impossible to get anywhere with her meditation. Tonight was Friday night, meaning she'd only have one more day of being able to forget for a few hours...before having more than 24 hours to herself. She didn't know what she was going to do.

After spending an entire hour trying to sort through three different sets of memories she collapsed onto her bed and growled in frustration. _"Ugh, nothing's working!"_ she yelled in her head.

" _Not yet it's not,"_ Soyokaze agreed. _"But remember what Youruichi told you?"_

" _Yeah, I know,"_ Yukiko muttered, draping an arm over her eyes. _"But I'm wondeirng if the only way to get my mind off K...off him would be to talk to him."_

" _You and I both know it's too soon for that."_

" _Yeah, but what else am I supposed to do?"_

" _Just keep trying."_

" _Tch, easy for you to say..."_ Yukiko growled. She could hear her blade chuckling at her which only made her irritation worse. _"Come on, sitting around isn't getting me anywhere. Get Youruichi's memories prepared again."_

" _Are you sure?"_ Soyokaze asked worriedly. Yukiko shot the nightingale a glare before the bird zanpaktou agreed and flitted inside one of the thick doors. The red headed female took several steadying breaths as she thought about the feline soul reaper before stepping through the same door.

The moment the door closed behind her, the room became pitch black. Yukiko was used to this by now and waited, bracing herself for what was to come. Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her neck and head, and a person's breath fell on her ear.

"I should have done this long ago, Yukiko."

The voice of Youruichi made the younger female's skin crawl. She had the desire to say something to stall her, or stop her. But before she could say a word, she felt the pressure suddenly increase and her head jerked to one side accompanied by an audible crack as pain exploded up and down her spine before disappearing altogether.

Slowly the darkness began to slip away, the room growing lighter and lighter. Yukiko gasped and coughed as she shook on all fours. A few tears escaped her closed lids and slid down her cheeks. _"Next,"_ she forced out.

"You're not giving up already, are you, Yukiko?"

She looked up to see Youruichi standing on the top of a rock formation. They were clearly back at the old training grounds. Slowly, Yukiko forced herself to her feet and stood facing the older woman. "Never," she declared.

Youruichi smirked before shooting forward; her shoulders and back covered in her crackling reiatsu. Yukiko didn't bother moving as the older woman suddenly appeared before her and thrust her palm into her heart. Pain erupted throughout her entire body and she felt a liquid pool in her mouth and slide down her chin. Her heart seized up from the impact and wouldn't start moving again. Her body began to feel numb and she couldn't get a breath. Then once again, everything went black.

" _Next."_

The word came as a pained gasp as Yukiko leaned over her knees. Now the tears were coming more freely and she tried to brush them away. "It's not real," she tried to tell herself. "Youruichi would never kill me."

"Don't be too sure."

Instinctively Yukiko jumped back, barely dodging a blow that created a crater in the ground. All thoughts of it not being real vanished as she started to panic. "Shes really going to kill me. I don't want to die...not again!"

Her fear skyrocketed until she was unable to move and Youruichi smirked at her, her killer intent suffocating her. In an instant Youruichi crossed the room to stand directly in front of the younger female.

All the strength Yukiko had fled as she fell onto the older woman's shoulder. Her stomach hurt like crazy and she could feel a warm stickiness spread across her body; front and back.

"I've pushed my arm all the way through you, crushing your organs," Youruichi explain in an almost gentle voice. "You have at most five minutes."

The pain was too great for Yukiko. Her mind was shutting down and her vision was blurring. Tears streamed unendingly down her cheeks and this time she did nothing to stop them. Before she lost all her senses, she thought about Kensei and the Vaizard, fearing she would be unable to keep her promises. Distantly, she heard someone calling her name, but it didn't matter.

Then as the last dregs of consciousness began to fade, she focused on the arms of the woman who killed her. They were warm and strong...just like...

The pain began to disappear as she remembered the times Youruichi had held her. At the door to her apartment, after fighting Aizen, when she tried to leave the soul society. Each time Youruichi had been supportive and almost motherly.

" _That's right..."_ she thought. _"That's what Youruichi's really like."_

That's when she realized her vision was returning, her mind was sharpening, and the pain was all but gone. She blinked a few times and took a step away from the Youruichi before her. The image flickered a bit, showing nothing before her.

" _You're not real,"_ she murmured and the flickering image vanished. _"Soyokaze...next."_ Something was different. She had to try it again.

Moments later, she was suspended over a boiling pool of some off colored liquid. Above her, Youruichi was insulting her and saying she wanted nothing to do with her, she was weak, useless, and pathetic. Yukiko took a deep breath and focused on her memory of the current Youruichi. When she was dropped into the liquid, the searing pain she expected was more a sting, and she could breathe.

" _This isn't real either."_ The moment she said this all of it vanished. _"It worked...NEXT!"_

Excruciating pain filled her being as she felt her left arm and right leg shatter. Youruichi stood over her with a sadistic grin on her face. Then she stomped down on Yukiko's foot, crushing the bones. Yukiko screamed as she tried to focus on the current Youruichi, but the pain was too much. She suffered every bone in her body being crushed under the strength of the feline woman.

" _Soyokaze! Stop!"_ she screamed when she could take no more.

The moment the words left her lips, she was back in the room of her apartment, panting heavily, with tears rolling down each cheek and the memory of the pain drifting through her body.

" _Are you alright?"_ Soyokaze asked worriedly. _"You pushed it too far. You weren't ready to enter that one just yet."_

Yukiko didn't respond right away as she was still recovering from the horrible experience. Eventually, she got a hold of herself and answered. _"No, I wasn't,"_ she agreed. _"But, I think I figured something out."_

" _What's that?"_

" _I've been too focused on how they used to act,"_ Yukiko answered getting to her feet and grabbing the phone off her bedside table. _"But that doesn't matter. What matters is what they're like now. If I want to fight along side them come December, I'll have to figure out if I can trust who they are now."_

" _But...the only way to do that would be..."_

" _Exactly. I'll have to get to know them all over again."_ She grabbed a few things and threw them into her bag before shooting off a message on the phone. _"First, I have to test this theory out. But if I'm right, then we might be able to reunite with everyone sooner than I thought."_

" _Yukiko, you're not really planning on..."_

" _Yes I am."_ Her phone went off and she quickly read the message before setting an alarm and collapsing back onto her bed. _"We'll be testing it tomorrow. So make sure you're ready for it."_

* * *

It was late when Kensei stormed into the Vaizard HQ. He was in a very bad mood despite having just come from a bar. Unfortunately the bronze liquid did nothing to rid him of the images he'd seen earlier. If anything, it enhanced them. Thanks to that, he drank too much and now he just wanted to sleep.

Apparently the other residents had other plans, as standing before him, blocking the stairs to the rooms, was Shinji. The last member of the Vaizard he wanted to cross right now, aside from Mashiro, was this man.

"What the hell do you want?" he demanded, trying to hide the fact he was drunk.

"I think I should be asking the questions," Shinji returned in irritation. "Like where the hell have you been? Visiting Yukiko?"

Kensei growled his irritation but didn't respond. Instead, he moved to bypass the blonde. Again Shinji blocked his path, but he didn't have the patience to play this stupid game. So he spun around and marched down into the training center. Unfortunately, the annoying blonde followed along.

"I'm not answering your questions," he shot at his tag along. "I'm just blowin' off steam."

"Right. And the reason being has nothing at all to do with Yukiko...right?" the blonde asked knowingly.

"Buzz off." Kensei barked.

He hoped the blonde would get the hint, but was sadly proven wrong. He tried ignoring the persistent man by grabbing his combat knife from his boot and going through a few different forms.

With his head slightly spinning, he wasn't performing quite up to snuff and Shinji was very aware of it. "If you want to blow off some steam, then try fighting me," the blonde suggested. Kensei ignored him, continuing with his more sluggish movements. "At the very least it'll give you more of a work out." No change. "We can even make it more interesting. If you win, I'll quit bugging you and leave."

Finally Kensei paused and looked over him. "And if you win?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, then you have to answer my questions," Shinji answered with a shrug. "But let's face it. When have I ever come out on top sparring with you?"

Kensei thought this over for a bit. It sounded pretty good to him. He'd get to beat on the annoying blonde and then said blonde would finally leave him be. He couldn't see a downside to this, especially since the blonde had pointed out that he, Kensei, had never lost in sparring.

"Fine," he growled. "But no bitchin' when I've removed your arm."

Shinji just smiled in response, revealing all his teeth.. "I think I can handle that," he chuckled lightly, unsheathing his own sword. "But can you?"

Kensei's temper flared as their two blades clashed. The silver haired man did everything he could to make sure he didn't let on just how drunk he was. This was rendered almost impossible, however, as right away the blonde was gaining the upper hand.

The entire match took about ten minutes, with the two of them exchanging blows of varying degrees, ending when Shinji was able to knock Kensei's blade out of his hands. The blonde smiled as he stood victorious over the silver haired man, holding his sword to the other man's neck.

"And that' match," Shinji said, putting his sword away. "Now, how about telling me why you couldn't manage to wait one day before starting to stalk her?" Kensei glowered at him and he shook his head. "Don't give me that. I know you've been going out to watch her ever since you stormed in here and let everyone else know. It's like you're her own personal stalker. Most people would see that as creepy you know."

"It doesn't matter," Kensei growled.

"Nah uh, we had a deal. You have to answer my questions," Shinji pointed out seriously. "No getting out of it this time."

"Screw this," the larger Vaizard muttered brushing himself off before picking up his combat knife and sliding it back in his boot. "I'm going to bed."

"You know, there's really no point in going to see her so often," the blonde continued, watching for anything from the larger man. "She'll be coming here soon enough to..."

Suddenly the knife blade flew through the air, barely missing the blonde's cheek. "That's bullshit and you know it," the silver haired man roared. "She's never going to be coming out here."

"And why do you think that?" Shinji asked, having not been fazed by the attack.

"You've seen here," Kensei declared, finally dropping to the ground in despair. He sat back and draped one arm over a raised knee while his other covered his eyes. "That bastard completely destroyed her. There's nothing left of who she was."

Shinji looked him over for a moment before sighing and going to collect the other's knife. "You know, only catching her during her meditation isn't going to give you an accurate account on that," he pointed out as he walked back toward the other man and dropped the blade in front of him. "The girl we all knew is still in there. There's not much but it's there."

"Bullshit."

"I'm serious. When she's by herself or with anyone she knew you can't see it. There's to much pain," Shinji agreed as he leaned against a nearby boulder. "But, get her in a room with those high school kids and she lights up. Relatively speaking."

Kensei glanced up at him with doubt in his eyes. He wasn't about to buy some lame story about her revealing her true self, especially not when she could only do it around new people. That was more bogus than the line about her still being her. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that she was broken, shattered. That whatever Aizen had done to her had robbed her of everything he'd loved about her. Loved and found annoying. It was difficult to separate the two sometimes.

"Look, trust me on this. I've seen her with those classmates of Ichigo's. She chuckles a little, she's able to practice with her sword and hand to hand, and I've even seen her smile. It's a sad one but still... She's always been tough, Kensei, you know that. She's always had this determination to reach a point or goal she set for herself. That's what's driving her now. Are you really saying she can't do it? She's always reached and even exceeded expectations, are you really going to deny she has the chance now to do the same?"

Kensei didn't say anything. The blonde had made several good points, as irritating as that was. It pained him to know he had in fact almost given up on her ever overcoming this hurdle. It seemed far too high, far too difficult a trial for anyone to overcome.

"Just out of curiosity, why haven't you checked in on her at the school?" the blonde asked suddenly. "I could have sworn it would have been the first place you checked."

"I didn't want to cause a scene," Kensei grunted, getting back to his feet and heading for the stairs.

"A scene? How would you...?" Shinji paused as he realized what the other was getting at. "You know, Kisuke made a special gigai for her specific situation." Kensei paused on his way up the steps, but he didn't turn around. "Turns out that with that fake body, she can' sense worth shit. You could literally be standing behind her and she'd never notice unless she caught sight of you somehow. So trust me, you'd be fine checking in on her wherever. Just don't let her see you."

A few moments of silence passed where neither Vaizard moved or said a word. Then finally, Kensei finished climbing the stairs and continued on to the bedrooms. He was dead tired and knew the pounding in his head was an indication his hangover was starting early. He needed to sleep before it came in full force. Still, the chat with the blonde had given him something. A ray of hope he was desperate to grab a hold of.

As he slammed the door to his bedroom and collapsed on his bed. He could feel his mind coming to a single conclusion. He had to check out the school, just to see how she was doing; see if Shinji was just pulling his leg. Then maybe he'd be able to pull away and wait. Yeah, he'd do that...first thing in the morning.

* * *

Shippoman: Thank you all for bearing with me. As stated above I had a crap ton of things going on these past few months. Starting in the first week of June my father-in-law passed away and my husband and I had to take care of the funeral arrangements and handle most of his estate. Ugh... That covered my birthday too. Then I had a small stretch of writers block that was immediately made worse by my brand new job of working at an airport. I tried several times to write out the end of this chapter for the rest of June (including my anniversary) and all of July (including my husbnad's birthday). Anyway, that's enough ranting...hope I didn't bore you all too badly.

So Yukiko's finally got an idea of how to make her process easier and Kensei's trying to find something that shows she's still the same girl he fell for. Stay tuned for the next chapter to see just how these two desires play out. Please remember to R&R. ^_^


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Morning couldn't come soon enough for Yukiko's taste as she was up at the crack of dawn ready to go. However, she remember that both Youruichi and Urahara were not early risers. The shop wouldn't even open until nine.

So she spent the morning trying to move through a few memories again. This icluded Youruichi, in which she had to stop at the same point as the night before, Urahara's, and Tessai's. In the end, they all ended in failure.

By the time she finished with her last attempt, it was 8:30, which meant she needed to move if she wanted to make it by the time the store opened. Her heart rate sped up with nervous anticipation as she gathered up her things and headed out the door. She hurried across town toward the Urahara shop, arriving just in time to see Ginta pulling open one of the sliding front doors.

"What are you doing here?" he muttered, crossing his arms.

"I'm just here to see Youruichi," Yukiko answered with a smile.

"Oh, I'll go get her, Ume."

Yukiko looked into the store to see that Ururu had gotten close enough to hear her request. The young soul reaper smiled to herself as she watched the little girl turn toward the back rooms. The girl was so cute with her split bangs hanging in her face and pigtails, so willing to help. Yukiko had no idea how the ex-captain of squad 12 managed to raise such a well mannered and adorable child. She was glad he had though.

"Don't bother with that, Ururu," Ginta called out as he rushed past her into the store. "I'll do it."

"Thank you, Ginta," Yukiko chuckled making him blush as he tried to ignore her. Unlike Ururu, he was rude and crass most of the time, but he still had his good points, especially when it came to the little girl. Yukiko was all too pleased to see him willing to help her, when it suited him at least.

She watched the boy head into the back as the largest resident came out wearing an apron and carrying a very large box in his massive arms. He met her eye as he passed the open door and nodded in greeting. The gesture made Yukiko get a flash of him crushing her with his arms. She forcfully shook it off and pushed a smile on her face.

"Morning, Tessai," she murmured.

He paused, staring at her through his thick sunglasses before moving on. Although he didn't say anything, Yukiko was familiar enough with his silent staatements that it didn't matter. She could tell he was glad to see her, but didn't want to accidentally trigger her. She gathered he'd noticed her reaction to his entrance despite her trying to hide it. How irritating...

Not wanting to be standing outside like an idiot, she stepped through the double sliding door into the cooler shop, checking out the various wares situated in their proper displays, and watching Ururu attempt to stalk a few that were just out of her reach. Items from candy to suvenier nicknacks and even some convenient store food were readily visible. As she looked over everything, she couldn't help but wonder how many living customers the little shop actually received day to day.

"Yukiko, are you here to discuss your new idea?"

She jumped at the sound of the voice, a chill running down her spine as she fought the urge to scream. An image of the owner having her strapped to a table and cutting into her over and over, all while she was awake, fully occupied her conscious mind for a minute or two. The memory of the pain and the sight of so much of her insides making her sick.

She took the time necessary to shake it off before turning to face the source. "Yes, Kisuke," she forced out with a strained smile. She decided to ignore the sad expression on his face knowing he'd already figured her out. "At least, I want to talk about how you can help me."

He nodded in understanding and gestured to the door behind him with his fan, the cane in his other hand resting firmly on the ground. Yukiko unconsciously swallowed at this before making her way into the backroom. Once she passed the door, she saw that Youruichi was seated on a cushion next to the table.

She felt a chill shoot through her body, which was quickly overcome by a sense of ease. Taking a second to breathe and calm her overly tense nerves, she took a seat at the table, crossing her legs for comfort.

"So, Yukiko, what can we do to help?" Youruichi asked.

The younger soul reaper took her time figuring out how to answer as Ururu placed breafast on the table before leaving. By the time she sorted through everyhting, Urahara and Tessai were also there.

"Last night I felt like I'd made a break through," she explained. "But, I need to test my theory before I say it out loud."

The three exchnged looks before Urahara nodded. "And where do we come in?"

"Well, in order to test my theory, I need to spend one day with each of you in turn. And at night I will see if I was right. So no matter how upset I get, don't try and get me to leave. I need to push through this."

"Hmm...who's first?" Tessai asked.

"Today Iwould like to spend with Youruichi. Tomorrow I will spend with Kisuke, and then you, Tessai. Each morning I will report on my success or failure."

"Then will you explain your theory?" Youruichi asked curiously.

"Only if it succeeds," Yukiko answered matter-of-factly.

"And if it doesn't?" Urahara asked raising an eyebrow.

"Then it doesn't matter what it was," she responded lightly. "If I'm wrong then there's would be no point in explaining it. I'll just try something else."

The three exchanged looks once more before the feline ex-soul reaper got to her feet. "Very well. Then I guess we'd better get started," she stated as she pulled a gigai out of one of the side rooms and stepped into it. "Did you have anything specific in mind?"

"Well, there was one thing I wanted to do, but that won't be until later," Yukiko answered. "Until then we can do whatever."

"Hmm, in that case I have something," Youruichi stated as she adjusted her garments. "Let's get going."

* * *

* Crash *

"Shinji!"

"Now what?" the blonde Vizard groaned as he heard the silver haired comrrad yell his name. He had a feeling he knew who it involved, but honestly, he had no say in what the girl did or how quickly she recovered.

"You lying bastard!"

"What? Did she not have a convincing enough smile?" Shinji grumbled irritatedly.

"She never showed up," Kensei shouted. He was almost seathing with anger.

"Well sorry, I didn't know she was planning on skipping today," Shinji sighed. "She's a big girl, maybe she just needed a break and went for a walk somewhere."

Kensei didn't think so. According to the blonde, she was going to school in order to relax from the stress of her recovery. She wouldn't be skipping without a reason. He was about to say just that but was interrupted as the barrier let someone inside.

"Hello, how is everyone?"

Kensei felt his blood boil even more at the sight of the newcomer. "What do you want, Kisuke?" he demanded.

"Oh, I just came because I felt you might be curious where Yukiko ran off to," the shop owner answered cheerfully. "I see I was right."

"Where is she?" the silver haired Vizard growled.

"Well, she came to us today with an interesting idea," Urahara explained. "She has a theory of something that will help her that she wants our help in testing. As such she's enjoying a day out with Youruichi. Would you care to watch?"

As he finished speaking, he held up a strange looking device and a mischievous grin graced his lips. Kensei had his misgivings, but followed the shop owner and blonde Vizard over to the only TV and watched as the device was connected to the antennae.

"Now...we just adjust this..." Urahara was talking to himself and he muttered a few more things as he adjusted a few different nobs on the device making Kensei more and more frustrated with each passing second. Just as he was about to explode, Urahara stood up and clapped his hands together. "There. Now let's see what the two of them are up to."

Moments later the screen flickered to life and an image of Yukiko licking some ice cream came into view. "You're right, Youruichi, this ice cream is amazing," Yukiko murmured inbetween licks. "So, what's next?"

"Hmm, how about here?" The image shifted until it was pointed at a clothing store they recognized from downtown.

"Uh, I already have enough clothes," Yukiko muttered.

"You might, but there's nothing wrong with looking at more," Youruichi teased.

Kensei watched as the two women entered the shop and the older immediately grabbed a few different items before handing them over to the younger. Yukiko reluctantly accepted them, then disappeared into a changing room. "What's going on?" he asked confused. She seemed almost completely normal.

"You see, she came up with a plan to spend the entire day with each of us, though she wouldn't explain why."

"Okay, but what are they doing?" Kensei demanded.

"Clothes shopping," Urahara answered in a teasing manner.

"I would have thought that was obvious, Kensei," Shinji scoffed.

"Tch, pointless," Kensei grumbled, ignoring the obvious jab.

"What do you think, Youruichi?" Yukiko's question drew everyone's attention, and Kensei froze where he stood.

She was dressed in a low cut blouse that was very light and had thin straps holding it on her shoulders. The bottom of the blouse flared out at her waist, just over a short skirt, which reached halfway down her thighs flaring at the bottom as well. It was a darker color and made of slightly heavier material.

"Hmm, not bad," Youruichi murmured. "It looks cute. Now give me a little twirl to show it off."

She did so, but quickly stopped when she felt it had flown up too high. Kensei had noticed her reason right away as he'd caught a flash of what lay beneath and felt his neck heating up. He quickly coughed and forced himself to focus on her face instead.

"Uh, I don't think this is for me," Yukiko murmured.

"Maybe you're right. Here try this one."

For the next hour or so the two females tried on various outfits, all of different styles and levels of modesty. Slowly the younger soul reaper started loosening up and began suggesting outfits for the other, or picking out some of her own. Kensei greatly prefered her sense of style as it looked very nice on her and didn't draw out images he'd rather crush. The clothes she received from Youruichi were all far too revealing for her to be wandering around other people.

Needless to say, by the time the two females had had their fill, he greatly wished the other males hadn't been watching. The only time he'd seen more of her skin had been in the hotsprings before she disappeared; and before the rest of them had been banished.

"So what now?" Youruichi asked as the two females left the clothing shop, their hands empty of any of the clothing they'd tried on.

"I'm not sure," Yukiko asnwered rubbing her arm. She looked a little nervous and wouldn't look in the other's direction. "What time is it?"

"Three in the afternoon," Youruichi answered.

"Really? Well I guess we could head back now for some sparring," Yukiko murmured. "That'll easily take the rest of the day..."

"Are you sure?" the older woman asked in a worried tone.

The younger straightened her back and turned to look the other in the eye. "Yes."

"Well, I think that's more than enough," Urahara declared, switching the device off and removing it from the TV.

"Wait, I want to know how well she holds together in a fight," Kensei cut in quickly.

"It is a little strange for you to just end the viewing so suddenly," Shinji added. Kensei could tell the blonde was also wanting to see her current skill level.

"I have my reasons for cutting it short," Urahara pointed out. "The biggest one being she had something she wanted to show the both of you. Do you really want to find out like this?"

The two ex-captains shared a look and both knew the answer. They wanted to see what she was so gung ho about showing off, but it would only really matter if she deliberately showed them herself.

"Fine do what you want," Kensei grunted walking away.

"I'll do just that," Urahara chuckled. "I'll even let you know the results of this little experiment."

"I suppose we should thank you for this," Shinji sighed.

"No, that's not..."

"But since you're a twisted bastard I won't," Shinji finished. "But I will beat you to a pulp if you keep us in the dark about her again.

"I promise not to hide a thing," Urahara laughed, bringing his fan in front of his face. "That is, unless she asks me to." Shinji rolled his eyes at this and watched as the shop owner left.

Once he was gone, Kensei moved away from the edge of the broken second level where his room was located. He was glad Urahara wasn't going to screw them over any time soon and was even happier Yukiko could still smile and laugh. He hoped that whatever her plan was would work and that she'd be by to see them soon.

"Just don't let that bastard win," Kensei thought, collapsing onto his bed. "Come back to m...come back to us."

* * *

"Since you're so bent on training wiht me, let's do it like old times," Youruichi decided.

It was twenty minutes after they decided to leave the clothing shop. She and Yukiko had made it down to the underground training area and ditched their gigai. They weren't the only ones, however. For some reason Renji Abarai was present as well. He wouldn't say the reason in front of her but Yukiko figured it had something to do with the upcoming war.

The younger woman gripped the pommel of her sword unconsciously at the older's words before asking, "Meaning what?"

"Hand-to-hand combat of course," Youruichi chuckled.

Yukiko blanched at the idea of setting her sword down. It was Soyokaze that was holding her dark memories at bay after all.

" _It'll be fine,"_ Soyokaze murmured. _"So long as we are down here you'll be close enough where I can still keep them at bay."_

" _Are you sure?"_

" _Yes, but only if you're fighting those memories as well."_

" _I understand. Thank you, Soyokaze."_ Yukiko slowly slid her sword and sheath out of her belt and set them gently on the ground. "Alright. I just have one question. Is he going to be watching the entire time?" She gestured over to the ladder where Renji was standing observing the pair.

"He's just curious," Youruichi laughed. "Honestly, after trying to take on all three captains at once can you blame him?"

"I guess not," Yukiko agreed with a shrug. "Let's get started then."

Youruichi smiled and her energy instantly spiked. Yukiko nearly took a step back as the lack of a weapon momentariy terrified her. She cried out for Soyokaze's help and heard a gentle soothing reply. Her sword was still there.

She took a deep steadying breath...and then another. When she had proper controle over herelf, she settled a determined gaze on Youruichi's face, sliding into a ready stance. Only after she showed she was prepared did Youruichi disappear. Her flash step was as fast as Yukiko remembered. She waited until her opponent reappeared before her, swinging an attack at her head, before she lifted her arms and blocked it. The attack was heavy, moving her through the dirt a few inches; but the familiar sting and weight of the blow brought a smile to her face.

She felt the leg move away from her arm and turned to meet the punch aimed at her stomach. She placed a hand on her opponent's arm, moving to the side of it and aimed a knee for her chest.

The knee was blocked and the two darted away from each other to look the other over. "You remembered," Youruichi complimented.

"Yeah, but you're going easy," Yukiko returned. She grinned cheekily at her mentor before the two clashed again. They flew at each other, faster than the eye can see, trading and blocking blows, dodging, racing, and darting all over the training facility. In the air, on the ground, and everywhere inbetween. The longer they went, the more fun Yukiko had, and the less she noticed the shudering door within her.

"You're doing well," Youruichi teased as she planted a fist in Yukiko's arms, pushing her backwards. Yukiko grit her teeth with the effort of trying to hold her she spotted the confident smirk on the feline ex-soulreaper's face.

Her heart stopped at the sight allowing herself to be thrown down into a boulder. Fear allowed her to jump back up and stare up at her opponent. Youruichi's energy spiked again, her fist flying toward her, covered in her reiatsu. The door within Yukiko's mind burst open and she froze as the images filled her vision.

She struggled for several moments trying not to get sucked in to the crippling memories. When she finally got a hold of herself she saw the glowing fist inches from her nose. Time stood still for her as sweat and tears fell down her cheeks, mixing together. Then to her suprise, the fist moved away and she felt herself embraced by a pair of arms once more.

"We'll call it quits for today," Youruihi murmured, her head resting on top of the crying girl's head.

Yukiko trembled in the embrace seeing the attack coming again and remembering all the times it had connected, how it felt, and how the woman had taunted her. "This is who Youruichi really is," she thought allowing her arms to wrap around the woman's waist. "How could I ever believe she would do that?"

As she cried, she felt a few words slip from her templing lips. "I'm so sorry..."

She thought she heard Soyokaze trying to tell her it wasn't her fault, but she'd already collapsed into tears and just cried openly in the woman's arms.

She cried for a long time, but when she finished, she got to her feet and wiped her face with her hands. "Thank you, Youruichi, for everything today. I'll let you know how everything went in the morning."

She bowed and left the shop, ignoring the words Rneji called out to her, and bypassing everyone else without a word. It was late when she got outside, with the moon high in the sky dotted with stars. She didn't know what time it was nor did she care. She had on thing to do tonight and nothing was going to stop her.

When she reached her apartment, she moved to her bedroom without turning on the lights and sat on her bed with her blade laid out across her crossed legs.

" _Alright, let us begin, Soyokaze."_

* * *

Shippoman: Looks like Yukiko might be on to something. Question is, will it work the way she wants it to? Kensei certainly hopes so. Too bad he had to sit through her showing off more about her than necessary with Shinji and Urahara. To make matters more complicated, Renji has shown up. I'm sure you all know what's coming next. Stay tuned to see how Yukiko deals with everything. Please remember to R&R.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

" _Yukiko, are you alright?"_

Said soul reaper was on her hands and knees panting heavily. Tears were pouring unendingly down her cheeks as she tried to regain her breath. Slowly, she sat up and looked around herself, seeing the fluttering Nightingale on one side of her and on the other was an open door leading out into the bright hallway of her mind. The room she was in was small and warm and she could see Youruichi sitting cross legged in her Captain's chair; exactly as she had years before.

" _Yes, Soyokaze,"_ she murmured to the Nightingale. _"I feel so much better."_ As she spoke, a smile spread across her features, despite the streaks of tears. _"It actually worked."_

Slowly, she pushed herself onto her feet and wiped her eyes before exiting the room and closing the door behind her. She glanced down each side of the hallway, seeing the hundreds of doors she'd made. One for each person in her memories.

" _Are you sure?"_ Soyokaze asked worriedly, as she flew by her side.

" _Yes, I finally finished one,"_ Yukiko replied lightly. _"I still have a lot more to go, but if this method continues to work, then I should be able to continue to progress. Even if it takes me another century to complete."_

" _Well, it's late,"_ Soyokaze sighed reluctantly. _"You should get some sleep."_

" _Right, we still have two more days to get through before we'll know for sure,"_ Yukiko agreed.

She took a deep breath, and slowly opened her eyes. Her room was dark, and all around her was the calming aroma of the many plum blossoms that she'd placed about her room. After her latest trip down memory lane, however, she felt she needed some fresh air before going to sleep. So, getting up from her bed, she shook the sleep out of her limbs and walked over to the window.

She opened her window and leaned on the sill, feeling the breeze brush over her. It felt good after her very stressful meditation period. Wanting to test out her new appreciation for the feline soul reaper, and curious to know how the others were doing, she closed her eyes and stretched out her reiatsu, searching for her friends.

Almost immediately she was bombarded by what felt like the remnants of a battle. She could feel the energy of six very powerful hollows as well as several soul reapers. She assumed the other soul reapers must have come when Renji did, though she hadn't asked him about who all had come or their reason. After a time, she focused more fully to find that Ichigo and Byakuya's little sister had been involved and seemed to be hurt, as was Renji. Then she tried to scan the Urahara shop and nearly recoiled in shock. Ururu's energy had almost faded into nothing.

She wanted to go see how the little girl was doing, but her sword reminded her that she'd be back tomorrow. _"I don't care! She's hurt, I have to see if there's something I can do!"_ Yukiko argued.

" _Just stop for a moment and think this over,"_ Soyokaze ordered. _"You can feel it right? You'd just be in the way."_

Yukiko wanted to argue some more, or just ignore her, but she did look back toward the shop and realized something. Urahara's energy was swirling all over the area. He was busy healing Ururu. She really would be in the way.

" _Alright,"_ she conceded reluctantly. _"But I am going to see how the others are doing. I know I won't be in Orihime's way."_

With that, she lept out her window and flash stepped toward the six energies gathered on an apartment rooftop. It didn't take her too long to travel the distance, though she did shut off her energy sensing as soon as she did. When she arrived, she noticed that Orihime's ability was covering the younger sister of her old friend while Ichigo knelt on one side of the healer with a really depressed expression, watching the progress and Renji sat on the other side. On the opposite end of the roof, stood the small captain she remembered seeing during the captain's meeting as well as his orange haired lieutenant.

"What happened?" she asked the two soul reapers. Matsumoto turned in surprise to see her as did her captain, but neither really seemed willing to say anything. "Did _they_ come? Come on I know Kisuke is trying to heal Ururu right now, and I know you three were hurt. I can also see the younger sister of the Kuchiki clan unconscious and Ichigo in a broken mess. So just tell..."

"That's enough!" Catpain Hitsugaya snapped, cutting her off. "You were given orders to work on your own recovery and stay out of this fight until given permission. Therefore, you have no reason to know what happened here."

"That's just an excuse," Yukiko returned crossing her arms almost protectively. "I said I'd stay out of the fighting and I meant it. However, friends were hurt in this battle which is obviously over. I don't see how me knowing what took place is going to change anything."

The two stared at each other for a time before he released a sigh and fully turned to face her. "Six arrancar made an appearance," he began reluctantly. "Five of them were just small fry, but the last was what they were calling an Espada. Each of us fought one, but only Rukia and Ikkaku were able to defeat their opponents on their own power. Rangiku, Renji, and I were unable to do so, even when using bankai, until the Gentei Kaijo was released."

"I see, that is a problem. And none of you were fighting the Espada," she guessed.

"Exactly. He fought Ichigo and Rukia, and you see what that result was," Matsumoto murmured.

"The only reason Ichigo isn't in the same state is the Espada was made to leave...by one of Aizen's men."

"I see." She took a breath and stretched her reiatsu out once more, seeking the site of Ichigo's battle. When she found it, she felt her heart seize up from the traces of an all too familiar energy. "Tousen," she muttered, her lip trembling slightly.

"Wow, you're good," Matsumoto murmured in amazement.

"It's probably best if you stop your searching," Renji pointed out, getting to his feet and coming over to the conversing trio. "Every time you do, I can sense you, Ume."

The trembling slowed to a stop at the sound of the name and she weakly smiled. "I'm aware, Renji," she murmured. "But thank you." She took a deep breath, cleared her mind and turned her attention to the two humans kneeling next to her old friend's sister. "So I assume this Espada is the cause of Ichigo's dead expression. Is he beating himself up because she was injured or because he lost?"

"What are you thinking?" Hitsugaya asked suspiciously.

"Looks like I'll have to take a leaf out of Kensei's book," she thought, ignoring the question. After a moment of conversing with her blade over a potential plan, she took a step forward and gestured toward the carrot top. "I'm just gonna borrow Ichigo for a bit," she stated clearly.

Before the others could say or do anything, she flashed behind the teen, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and dragged him off despite his weak protests to stay and keep watch over Rukia. She ignored his cries, not stopping until they were at the edge of the river that ran through Karakura Town.

"What do you want?" he asked despondently.

"Look at yourself, Ichigo," Yukiko sighed. "This is pathetic."

"Shut up. You don't get it. They were counting on me to win, and I let them down. Rukia could have died because of me."

His words were cut off as the sound of a slap echoed across the waters. He blinked a few times in surprise feeling the sting of her hand on his cheek. After a few moments, he turned his head back to stare at her, a dim light shining in his otherwise dead eyes.

"Do you honestly believe that she sees it that way? I don't think so. She's a Kuchiki and a soul reaper. She knows that she takes the chance of perishing every single day she opens her eyes. Whether choosing to engage in combat or not, death is right around the corner. So don't you ever assume you're the only one who's experienced loss or letting someone down. Remember, you've only been doing this for a few months tops. The rest of us have been at this for years. You really believe that in all this time we've never once experienced something similar enough to understand you?"

"This is different," Ichigo stated in a defeated voice.

"In some ways, but not nearly as different as you think," she sighed. "You just lost a fight with a powerful opponent because you were afraid of losing yourself to your own power."

"What makes you think I'm afraid?" he asked guardedly.

"Easy, you're eyes reveal it so easily," she explained lightly. She took a deep breath before walking closer to the river and staring out over the shifting water. "Look, Ichigo. I'm not great with words or speeches, so all I can do is tell you a story. Just bear with it."

She closed her eyes, as the memories of her past sped through her mind. She could see each and every moment as if in fast forward and felt herself sway as if she was getting sick. However, she held herself up on Youruichi's door, where she could see the true form of her old friend and pushed forward.

"A long time ago, back before I ever joined the Gotei 13, I had zero control over my power. I was banned from releasing my zanpakto on academy grounds because I'd hurt the other students. Even without that, just being startled was enough to set off my wind reiatsu," she paused for a breath, needing to take a few seconds to slow the images once more before continuing. "But then...my captain brought me in to his squad and helped me gain control. Without him I would have been sent to our deepest prison just because I was a danger to myself and everyone around me."

Ichigo stared at her in shock as she explained her past to the teen. It was amazing to him to think that as strong as she was, that she once had no control. How'd she do it? He wanted to ask her about it, but stopped as she continued.

"Two months into my training, I was given a mission. It was the first time I'd ever led a group of people and I was terrified. It didn't help that my meek demeanor didn't instill any confidence in the four men I'd been told to take with me. Our orders were simple, head to the human world to observe a hollow and report back. Things didn't go so well."

She went into detail about how she felt giving the four more experienced soul reapers orders, how she split them up and the search for the hollow that took two hours. Then she explained how two of the members fell before reuniting with the others and a third was attacked before her eyes. She saved the third and sent him with the last member back to soul society for reinforcements. Finally she explained how she'd found her two missing comrades and got beat up by what she realized were twin hollows while trying to protect them.

"In the end, all I did was watch as my men were almost killed and failed to kill the very thing that hurt them. If my captain hadn't come when he did, we all would have perished."

Ichigo stared at her silently for several moments as he tried to process what she said. He didn't think things were so difficult for soul reapers.

"Look, I know you think you let them down and that you're too weak to do anything. You failed and chances are no one will ever trust you again. Well allow me to tell you what my captain told me after that mission. You didn't fail."

"What?"

"I know you're not a soul reaper but bare with me. What is your mission, your main objective?"

"To protect Karakura Town. To protect my family and friends."

"Exactly. Look around you. Is Karakura Town still here?"

"Yes..."

"Have any of your friends or family died?"

"No but..."

"Did you flee for your own life?"

"No way."

"Then you didn't fail. Sure you lost your fight, but that doesn't matter. A truly failed mission only occurs when everyone is dead, you failed your objective and you fled. All of these criteria must be met for you to have truly failed."

Ichigo stared at her trying to dispute what she was saying, but honestly he couldn't. She was completely right. No one was dead and his home was still in tact. But...what was he supposed to do with this uncontrollable power? "H-how did you, gain control?" he finally asked reluctantly.

Yukiko turned from the water and smiled softly at him. Her eyes were red like she'd been crying, but he hadn't noticed anything from her speech. Was she alright? "That is the big question," she murmured softly. She took a deep breath and ran a hand over her suddenly tired looking eyes. "There's really only one way to obtain control over your own power. You have to train, even if it means getting help from someone else like I did. The real question is though, even if someone did try to help...would your pride let them?"

With that she turned on her heel and flashed away, returning to her room. As soon as she was in her plum blossom sanctuary, she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She hoped Ichigo took the words to heart. They'd helped her out of her funk when Kensei used them after all. Giving those kind of speeches, however, was not her forte. It felt strange and several times she'd had to press forward to avoid the painful memories that accompanied her story and made her want to curl up herself. Now that she was alone, she curled up on her bed and wept as everything she'd been holding back crashed down on her.

* * *

Sleep did not come easily to Yukiko that night. Memories from the stories she told and fear of Tousen finding her again kept plaguing her dreams. By the time she awoke, it was almost time for the Urahara shop to open.

Reluctantly, she got out of bed and cleaned herself up before changing into a simple flowery halter top she'd bought on her outing with Youruichi, and pulled on a pair of denim shorts. Then she brushed out her long hair, threw on a pair of sandals, and left her apartment. After the long night she had, she was reluctant to search for anyone, worried that doing so would open herself up to being located and worried about what she'd find.

When she made it to the Urahara shop, she paused in the gateway and smiled to herself as she spotted something reassuring. Ginta had Ururu by the hand and was leading her around the front yard jumping in the air occasionally and shouting "yay" in celebration. They were so adorable and she giggled lightly as she continued to watch their progress. That is until she noticed the door to the shop open and someone else came outside.

Seeing the newcomer wiped the smile off her face and she had to take a few moments to get a hold of herself. During that time, he whipped out his fan and had Ginta stop dragging Ururu around. She was about to head inside to relay the good news to everyone, but before she could a very large man rushed passed her.

"Urahara," he called out getting the man's attention before kneeling on the ground in front of him. "Please, you must train me."

Yukiko was stunned by the sudden demand and she wasn't the only one. Urahara looked down at the large teen kneeling before him, his fan shielding his expression.

"Pardon me?" he murmured calmly. "I have far too much to do at the moment to waste my time training you."

"What?" Chad exclaimed looked up at the store owner. "The way I am right now I can't watch Ichigo's back. I need to get stronger."

Urahara stared silently down at him, not moving or showing any sign of what was going through his head. Not knowing what to do about the situation, and not sure how well her frazzled nerves would handle interfering, she continued to watch in silence. Urahara mused over the situation for several moments before snapping his fan closed and moving inside. "Just wait here and I'll have the perfect training partner for you," he ordered the teen before motioning toward the two children and disappearing inside.

Said teen got to his feet and watched as the store owner went inside, followed by his two charges. She was curious to know what Urahara had in mind, but thought it would be better not to get involved. So she only moved enough to be within the gate, instead of on the sidewalk, and shifted to one side so she could lean against the wall and wait.

It took about fifteen minutes for the store owner to come back out, and in that time the large teen never moved. She felt kind of bad for him, having to wait while his training fate was decided. Still, she knew it would be better if he had a different trainer than Urahara. He was a lot tougher than anyone she knew and although she'd never seen it herself, she was very aware that his bankai was one you didn't want to be on the receiving end. She watched for a little longer as he spoke to the teen and gestured toward the door where Renji was standing lazily.

"Come on," the redhead called out gesturing inside. Without another word, he turned and went inside, the large teen following behind him.

Once they were gone, Yukiko watched while Urahara gestured for her to follow. She took a deep breath before following him inside and to the backroom where the table was located. Seated behind it, waiting for them, were Tessai and Youruichi. Yukiko nodded to the first, feeling her nerves twitch in anxiety before focusing on the second. Doing so calmed her and even brought a smile to her face. Then all at once she darted forward and wrapped her arms around the woman's neck. "Youruichi. It's good to see you," she exclaimed, hugging her tightly. "Thank you."

"Last night must have done you wonders," Urahara chuckled. "Care to elaborate?"

Yukiko apologized for her actions as she pulled away from the older woman and took a seat next to the table, breathing deeply. "My plan from yesterday originated because of an accident during one of my meditation sessions," she began. "I was going through my memories of Youruichi and having as much trouble with it as always. I was about to stop the flow at the same point I had before when I was suddenly reminded of something."

Urahara raised a curious eyebrow while Tessai simply waited for her to finish. Youruichi, on the other hand, smirked as she figured out what was coming.

"I remembered how much she'd helped me in the soul society after being freed from Aizen's prison. I realized what I was seeing before me, couldn't possibly be Youruichi. It was easy to say, it wasn't real. I then managed to make it a few more memories in before those few were no longer able to sustain me."

She was smiling in excitement now and the older woman gave her a knowing smile. Urahara smiled as well, leaning back a little with his fan in his hand once more and Tessai continued to face her way in silence; his sunglasses making it impossible to tell where his focus actually was.

"So, I came up with the idea that my memories of the past were too jumbled to make an accurate decision on anyone," she summed up. "As such, I would need to make new memories, good ones, to counteract the old."

"And I assume your wonderful greeting means it worked?" the purple haired woman asked with a smirk.

Yukiko nodded. "Yes, I was finally able to make it all the way through one complete set of memories," she answered excitedly. "Yours, Youruichi."

"Hmm, and you decided to use us as test subjects why exactly?" Urahara asked. "I was under the impression the more time you spent with someone the more difficult it would be to fix your image of them."

"You're right, Kisuke, but that is the reason," she returned. "It began with Youruichi and since it started with her I wanted to finish it out. Also, I spent a lot of time training with the three of you, but still not most of my time. The way I see it, if it works with you then it's more likely to work with everyone I have fewer memories of."

"That would include half the Vizard," Tessai put in.

"Y-yes," Yukiko agreed reluctantly. "The only ones I wouldn't be quite as certain with would be...Shinji and...K-Kensei."

"I understand," Urahara murmured getting to his feet. "Well then, shall we get started?"

Yukiko smiled weakly and nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Shippoman: Yukiko's plan is working so far, as she completes one of the hundreds of doors contained within. Doing so has taken her one step closer to a reunion with the vizard. Will her time with Urahara go as smoothly? Will her words to Ichigo help him make a decision? Stay tuned to see if her progression continues or grinds to a halt. Please remember to R&R! Your reviews make it all worth it.

Sorry about the long wait. It wasn't a matter of writer's block this time, I just had issues getting the first scene right. Ichigo's self depreciating nature was difficult to work with without having sound too whiny/infantile or making him too defensive. I have to go over the episodes where he was downing on himself several times to get this version. I hope i managed to keep him and the rest of the characters in character. I'll try not to let too much time pass before I post the next chapter. So please, continue to bare with me.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter: 14

"Now are you sure this is how you want to spend your day with me?" Urahara asked as he paused next to a sliding door located behind a false wall. Yukiko would have never noticed it was there if he hadn't shown her.

"Yes," she answered in determination. "I want to help with preparations for the upcoming war, and this might be the only way I can."

"Alright," Urahara sighed as he opened the door and stepped inside.

Yukiko followed him in, breathing deeply as her nerves grew more on edge with every step. The moment she stepped inside she froze, her eyes scanning the room with frightening speed. The room was filled with large machines and tanks filled with water. Suddenly she was strapped to a table with Urahara standing over her, a scalpel in hand. She could feel the blade pierce her skin over and over, her warm blood drenching her skin.

She couldn't hear anything aside from her own screams echoing in her head. Then a hand touched her shoulder and she jerked away, stumbling and falling to the ground. She gripped her head tightly and curled up against the wall as close as she could and shook. "Stop it..." she whimpered as the screams continued unencumbered. She could feel each and every cut and her body nearly convulsed as she tried to fight it off.

" _Yukiko, snap out of it!"_ Soyokaze called out.

Yukiko didn't respond as she panted heavily, the terrible memories filling every corner of her mind. She could see the acidic liquid hitting her skin and eating right through her, feel the pain of having a limb slowly removed, and hear the heartless laughter and chatter coming from the blonde scientist. She was drowning in the memories and even with Soyokaze's attempts she couldn't see any way out.

"...Ume..."

Then, a soothing voice pierced through the shrill screams in her mind and the pain began to dim. Where was it coming from?

"Ume, look at me."

The command was so gentle that she was able to realize she wasn't really being restrained and in her mind she saw the ex-captain of squad 2 bending down to gently wipe the tears away. "Y-Youruichi.."

Slowly, the memory faded away as she opened her eyes to see that the feline woman was indeed kneeling before her, and a warm hand was gently stroking her head. "Come on, Ume. I think it's time you head home."

Yukiko blinked a few times and mentally shook the cobwebs out of her head. She was going to be sent home, and it was only halfway through her day with Urahara. She knew collapsing in on herself was a possibility, she needed to push through it.

"N-no, I'm fine," she stuttered forcing herself to her feet. She took a glance around the lab once more and instantly those memories tried to return. However, having Youruichi right there helped keep her grounded. "I need to do this."

Urahara and Youruichi exchanged looks before reluctantly agreeing. "Alright, but I'm staying right here just in case," the feline soul reaper insisted.

"That's fine," she murmured, lightly rubbing her head. "Please, Kisuke, let us continue."

* * *

"So that's him is it?" Kensei muttered to himself from his place on the second level of the Vizard hideout. He was sitting cross-legged across from Hiyori, watching the teen they were trying to recruit enter.

The boy was rather scrawny, though the Vizard could tell he had some decent muscles beneath his jacket. He seemed like the type that was a lot stronger than he appeared. Still, physical strength wasn't really what they were looking for. If he didn't have enough power to make it worth it, they planned on abandoning the child.

He watched in interest as the boy challenged Shinji and a fight broke out. After a few seconds of battle, he saw his comrade knock the boy to the ground, shattering several boxes upon impact. At this point he joined the rest of the Vizard in getting a better view, jumping down to the ground floor and following the battle's progress.

"Well, this is surprising," he heard Rose murmur. The guy sounded impressed, though the silver haired Vizard couldn't see what of. "The boy turns out to be a good fighter. He seems to be holding off Shinji."

"Idiot. You'd better get your eyes checked," Lisa shot back angrily. She sounded appalled he'd even suggested the boy could be strong enough to fight on par with the ex-captain. "Can't you see Shinji's only playing out there. He's not even breaking a sweat."

"To be honest, it doesn't look like Ichigo's bringing everything he's got to the fight either," Hachi pointed out lightly. It was clear he was just trying to level the playing field between the two. He always was trying to keep the rest from fighting with each other. "He seems to be holding back."

"Yeah," Love agreed, though he sounded far more amused. "I figure that the guy's gotta be freaked out."

"You really think so?" Mashiro asked in confusion. The little idiot was still clueless, figures. "Over what?"

"It must be his hollow," Kensei muttered. He was irritated at the mere thought of it. "Little punk's scared that every time he fights he's gonna release that inner hollow. That he won't be able to control it. That's why he wants it suppressed. That makes him damaged goods in my book. Why are we trying so hard to recruit this guy anyway?"

"Heh, that's surprising coming from you," Rose teased. "Is that what you thought of Yukiko all those years ago?"

Kensei chose to ignore the comment, though he couldn't shake the memory. No, Yukiko was different. Yes she was terrified of her own power, but she was constantly working to fix it, even when no one else was willing to help her. This brat, however, was too scared to even try. He was avoiding the power. Someone who couldn't fight despite the fear was damaged goods, plain and simple.

At this point, Hiyori sighed and started approached the battling pair before ordering Hachi to add a few more layers to the barrier. Then she smacked Shinji out the window with her sandal. Then she moved on to explaining to Ichigo that he had no choice in whether he would be joining their group or not; that their group would only help him if he was strong, otherwise he'd be left to turn into a hollow.

"Don't be impulsive!" Love yelled at her, as she pulled her own mask over her face.

"Think about what you're doing!" Rose added with a sigh.

"Hiyori!" Mashiro called worriedly.

Frankly, Kensei didn't care what the shrimp did. If she thought she'd be able to draw the kid's power out faster, that was fine with him. All that mattered was they were able to discern his level of power. The sooner that happened the better. He didn't feel like wasting all day on it after all.

The group continued to watch the fight before them progress. With Hiyori's hollowfication, Ichigo couldn't even touch her. She tried to force him to finally release his bankai, but the stubborn moron kept pushing it, refusing to do anything that would release the inner hollow. Pathetic.

Then, all at once, Hiyori cut halfway through the boy's sword and knocked him to the ground, followed almost immediately by him leaping back up with half his face covered in a hollow mask and slamming her against a pillar by the throat. The boy's hand clenched tighter around the small Vizard's neck, causing her power to disappear.

This came to a quick end, however, as every member of the Vizards, aside from Hiyori, forced the boy to the ground with their swords surrounding him. Then Shinji used his own blade, to break the mask off the kid's face and turned to see how the smallest member was doing.

Kensei glanced up at the woman himself, seeing her shivering in fear as she stared back at the boy. The ex-captain stood nearby in case anything more happened, but he figured it was over so he put his sword away. Shinji took this time to explain to Ichigo he had no chance of controlling his power by force of will alone before alerting him that he'd passed their little test.

After that things got a little boring for his taste, so Kensei returned to his room. He knew the first step of training wouldn't happen until the next day so he decided to get some sleep, maybe he'd run through some drills later on.

A few hours later, when night had fully fallen, he left his room and went looking for something to eat. Along the way, he spotted Shinji reclining on the couch while Ichigo sat nearby, staring at the floor. He was about to move on when he heard the blonde ask a question that caught his attention.

"So, Ichigo, what made you finally decide to come here for our help?" he asked curiously. "I could have sworn you were completely against the idea."

"I was," Ichigo grumbled. "But, someone told me something that made me realize I was being an idiot refusing the help."

"Oh, who was that?"

"Ume."

Shinji stilled for several moments before sitting up on the couch and looked him over. Kensei watched the pair as well, waiting to see what she'd said to the boy. Perhaps, this story would ease his growing worry.

"What exactly did she say?" Shinji asked seriously.

Ichigo lifted his head just enough to look the Vizard in the eye. "What do you know about her?"

"That's none of your business," Shinji grumbled. At the glare he was given he rolled his eyes and sighed. "Look, suffice it to say we knew each other a long time ago. So, what'd she tell you?"

Ichigo frowned, but he looked as if he was resigning himself to not getting anything new from the blonde. "She told me a story...you might know about it. She explained about her time at an academy, how she didn't have any control. Did she really? Was she almost arrested for it?"

Shinji looked up at the ceiling for a few moments and Kensei was certain he knew what the man was thinking. He himself could remember all the trouble the girl had to suffer through all because of her lack of control. He could even remember the long meetings that decided her fate.

"Yeah, I remember that. She had almost everyone scared of her power," Shinji laughed after a time. "So, is that it?"

"No. She also told me about her first captain," Ichigo answered slowly. "She told me about her first mission he'd saved her from. Then she told me even though I lost against Grimmjow I didn't fail. She said she got this whole thing from her captain, about what it really means to fail. Then she basically told me I was an idiot for refusing help with my problem. That gaining control and getting stronger were more important than my pride. She was right...I hate the idea of asking you bastards for help...but if that's my only option I can't exactly turn my back on it. Not if I want to keep fighting anyway."

Kensei waited until Ichigo finished explaining before moving on, hearing the blonde's laugh behind him. He couldn't believe the boy had been convinced to find them by the timid soul reaper. But, it was even more unbelievable that she'd used the very pep talk he'd given her after her first mission, to help him get back on his feet.

It was clear she hadn't used any names in her explanation, but the fact she used her past at all to help the teen out made him smile to himself. She was still in there; the girl he'd helped so many times and even began to feel drawn toward remained despite everything Aizen had done to her. He thought about the plan Yukiko had expressed to Urahara and wondered how far along in it she'd come. So long as she succeeded with the three from the Urahara shop he knew she'd be along to visit. Today would have been the end of day two...now he just had to wait one or two more days. He hated waiting...

* * *

Shippoman: Ichigo's finally put aside his pride and gone to the Vizard for help. His training will soon begin, sending him on the long process of controlling his mask. At the same time, Yukiko finishes her second test day. After her momentary collapse, how did it go? Did she succeed? If so, will she succeed on the third day? And will she ever be ready to face her ex-captains again? Stay tuned to find out. And please remember to R&R.

Real quick, I want to give a shout out to all of you who are continuing to read this story as well as to all the new comers. Thank you for taking the time to read and especially provide feedback. I appreciate all you've said regarding my work so far. I'm grateful to the advice given by "TR4PP3R" and for the words of encouragement from "MYMYTHEGREAT". It's good to know you think my story's worth waiting for. I'll do my best not to disappoint any of you. Please continue to read and enjoy my vision with me.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

"I...I can't do this after all."

Yukiko was standing before an empty space between two warehouses on the outskirts of the city, fighting against the urge to run away and failing. It was still too soon.

" _Yukiko, this has been one of the goals you've been working toward all this time,"_ Soyokaze reminded her. _"You cannot run away now. You've come too far to simply retreat."_

"Y-you're right," Yukiko stuttered, taking several more breaths. Then stealing herself against the nerves, she stepped forward and touched the barrier with her reiatsu.

Knowing she couldnt' break it and that she would need the creator's permission to enter, she waited...and waited. For some reason nothing was happening.

"Maybe I didn't use enough reiatsu to show it was me," she wondered to herself. "Should I...try again?"

"Wait."

She paused, with her hand hanging in the air, following her sword's suggestion. Then a gap in the barrier opened up like a door. She breathed in relief and apprehension as she stepped inside and looked aorund.

There were no signs of life in the entry room, which seemed to be devoid of anything aside from garbage and other things expected of an abandoned building. The only things out of place, were the large piece of concrete sticking up form the floor, revealing a set of stairs, and the sound sof battle coming from it.

"Of course they have one," Yukiko sighed and rolled her eyes.

" _Were you expecting something different?"_ Soyokaze asked in amusement.

"No. I think I'd be more surprised if they didn't have it," she sighed. "Alright...here we go..."

Slowly, she edged her way over to the staircase and down the steps. They were short steps and led deep underground toward a lighted area. As soon as she reached the bright area, she stopped right at the edge and peeked out fom the side.

A smile spread across her face at the scene befoe her, bringing back waves of good memories. On one side of the underground training facility she could see Lisa, Love, Rose, Mashiro, Shinji, and a really big guy with bright pink hair she didn't recognize. The six of them were all sitting near each other doing something different. Lisa ha da magazine on her lap, Love was busy reading something and then llaughing about it, Rose was tuning his violin and occasionally complaining about Love spoiling the book, Mashiro was lying on her stomach kicking her legs in boredom, Shinji was tossing his hat in the air and catching it, and the large stranger seemed t be meditating.

Her amusement at the scene was cut short as a loud crash startled her near the steps. She quickly pulled away from the opening to avoid being seen ignoring Soyokaze's jabs at being a coward.

"Rrr...I told you not ot hollowfy!" an all too familiar yell sounded nearby.

"I had to!" This one was also familiar and much more recent. "You almost killed me!"

"If you'd died from that then you obviously weren't as strong as we thought," the first responded bitingly. "We don't need weaklings."

"Why you..."

Another crash interrupted the second voice befoe the sounds of battle moved away. Yukiko chuckled lightly to herself over the conversation she'd just heard. It seemed Ichigo had taken her advice to heart and came for help after all. Not only that, the loud mouth Hiyori seemed to be the one trianing him. They were a lot alike so she found herself laughing over the situation.

"Well that's everyone," she murmured as the anxious feeling began to return.

" _Almost everyone_ ," Soyokaze pointed out. " _You're still missing one_."

"R-Right."

Yukiko knew her ex-captian was nowhere to be seen...but a part of her hoped he would be gone for the day. Out of all the Vizards, he was the one she feared seeing most.

However, her hopes were dashed when she heard a light banging noise followed by a call for lunch. It was Kensei. Yukiko reluctantly peeked around the side again and spotted him on one of the boulders wearing an apron and holding a frying pan and ladle. When had he learned to cook?

She watched as everyone began to move towards the food and was seirously contemplating running away when a shout and collision made up her mind for her.

"Ume! You came! Why are you hiding up here? Come eat with us!"

She wasn't given the chance to answer any of the questions or make any sort of response as she was dragged down the rest of the stairs and over to a talbe filled with food. She blinked a few times, after she stopped, as she tried to register what just happened. After all, it had been over one hundred years since the last time she'd been dragged around by the hyperactive Lieutenant.

"Guys, look who came to visit!" Mashiro shouted giving her a hug. "Finally! Let's have a sparring match, Ume! You promised."

If she had been her old self, Yukiko would have bust out laughing at the varied expressions that greeted her. In fact, the only one that didn't seem surprised in the least was the big guy. If anything he looked amused. Thinking on it, she realized he was probbly the one that made the barrier surrounding the building and therefore let her in.

"Hi," she mumbled nervously. "It's...been awhile."

At her greeting, the frozen scene finally returned to life and the expressions changed. Hiyori grunted and looked away; the big guy smiled at her and nodded; Rose, Love, and Lisa gave similar silent greetings before returning to their meal; Ichigo blushed a little and looked away; and to her dismay, Kensei grabbed his plate and sat as far away from her as he could without leaving the immediate area.

"Yukiko, what are you doing here?" Shinji asked curiously. He smiled warmly, showing all his teeth, and approached her with a plate of food in his hand. "I thought you were planning on saving us for later."

"Well...I'm sure Kisuke already told you what I was working on, so I'll just sum it up," she answered, forcing her calm demeanor to stay. The expressions she'd seen after the shock wore off brought back not so pleasant memories. "After my success with those three...I wanted to come here. I...need this."

"In that case, come grab some food," he murmured, gesturing to the table. "I believe it's high time we catch up."

Yukiko offered a weak smile and nodded before taking a seat next to the big guy with her own platter. She began to eat and a heavy tension rolls over the rest of the group, keeping them from going into any form of normal conversation. Ichigo felt very uncomfortable about the whole situation having no idea what her relaitonship with the group was and finding the lack of any sound to be disturbing.

Then, as the tension continued to grow, it was suddenly broken as Mashiro jumped onto Kensei's back and knocking him over. Her sudden appearance made him drop his plate; the food landing all over his front.

"What the hell, Mashiro!" he yelled shoving her off of him and trying to brush the food off.

"Meanie, Kensei!" she yelled back. "Ume's finally come to visit and you're sitting all the way over here. You should come sit over here instead!"

Kensei was about to yell back when a soft giggle echoed through the silent hall and everyone turned their attention to Yukiko. She still had the sad look in her eye, but a warmer smile graced her lips and she was holding a hand in front of her mouth. She was laughing...

Somehow, her one small laugh set off a chain reaction as first Shinji, then the rest began laughing as well. Then through her giggle, Yukiko managed to get enough control over herself to speak. "The food is pretty good," she murmured nervouly. "But, I think wearing it is a bit much."

Although she didn't think it was that funny, her comment made Shinji and Mashiro both start howling with laughter. She blushed slightly at their reaction and noticed that Ichigo was looking around in utter confusion.

"Poor thing," she thought with a sigh. "I should probably give him some sort of explanation later. Though, I wonder if it's okay to tell him who they are. It's not really my place."

When the laughter died down, Kensei disappeared from Yukiko's sight and everyone else went back to their food. This time, however, they began chatting with each other; all previous tension having gone completely out the window. Rose and Love began discussing a magazine they'd both read, and Lisa pulled out one of her own while continuing to eat. Shinji, however, had gotten to his feet and moved over to where she was sitting, taking a seat in front of her while Mashiro plopped down almost on top of her.

"So, what have you been up to?" he asked taking a bite of food. "You definitely seem to be better, at least since the last time I saw you."

Yukiko paused with her food halfway to her mouth. "Well, managing to solidify three people in my mind definitely helps. Especially since some of their memories link with yours," she slowly murmured. "But then, I suspect Kisuke's already explained things to you all."

"Well, to Kensei and myself yes," Shinji nodded in confirmation.

"What about you? You've been away from soul society for over 100 years," she continued. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"I've been reading these great magazine's whenever I can," Lisa cut in easily. "I've been collecting them since I found out they existed and spend most my time looking over them, again and again."

Yukiko sweat at this answer, but still found it amusing.

"Actually, aside from getting our new power under control and planning to battle _them_ , we've all picked up our own little hobbys," Shinji answered with a shrug.

After this, each member went into detail about their own personal entertainment was. Yukiko listened to each and found they seemd to fit the different personalities. All except for Kensei having learned how to cook. It really threw her off to know the meal she was eating was made by his hand. It was impressively good.

After this, things devolved into a simple exchange of questions which she tried to answer as best as she could. The other sometimes answered each other's questions, giving her a chance to get her breath, especially in moments when her body began shaking. Luckily, Ichigo seemed to remember what she'd said to him when she delivered her report. When these moments began, either he would catch on and say her name, or Mashiro would suddenly hug her and call her name or ask her to spar. Thank goodness the green haired girl would allow her to decline. She seemed to know that Yukiko needed the help, but made it look like she was just throwing her old fits. Silently, Yukiko thanked her for that. She would have wanted to flee without it.

After everyone had finished eating, and Ichigo had washed the dishes, Hiyori dragged him off to continue his training amidst his very loud complaints. While the training was necessary, it also provided an opportunity for the rest to talk without him hovering.

"So, now that Ichigo's occupied, how about telling us what exactly you plan on doing," Shinji spoke the moment the other two were out of earshot.

"Hiyori should really hear this too," Yukiko mumbled lightly.

"Don't worry about her, we'll explain it later," Lisa spoke up, finally setting her magazine aside.

"We're all very curious to know what your plan is," Rose added thoughtfully.

Yukiko paused for a moment, closing her eyes as she took several breaths, clearing the images that had arisen from the last few comments. "Alright, I'm going to be coming here everyday for the next week," she began. "Or six days to be exact. I will spend the majority of each day with one of you and retire at my apartment for the night."

"Why only six days?" Shinji asked curiously.

"Because I've only really met Hachi once, so any memories I have of him are obviously fake and Mashiro has always used my nickname, which means all the memories I have of her not using it are fake," Yukiko waved off as if it didn't matter. "I don't have any issues sorting through my memories of the two fo them, it's the rest of you that's it's difficult."

"So, do you have a certain order or is it first come first served?" Love asked with a small chuckle.

"I have an order...and please don't argue with me about it," she answered looking at each one of them in turn. "First I'll go with Rose, then Love. After that I'll take a day with Lisa followed by Hiyori. I'll end off the week with Shinji then Kensei."

"Sounds like you've got this all sorted out," Shinji nodded. He was a little irritated he had to wait so long, but based off the order he thought he understood why.

"I suppose this means I'll see you tomorrow," Rose hummed. "Any ideas on what you'll want to do?"

"I have some ideas, but mostly it'll just be a day to create new memories," she summed up.

The group nodded their understanding and even Mashiro didn't argue, though she did whine a little about when she'd be able to get in a sparring match. Yukiko promised her they'd do it after the week of pain, which seemed to make her happy.

Once the rules were layed out, Yukiko got to her feet and bade the group farewell before turning and making her way toward the exit. As she moved up the stairs, she stumbled a little and leaned against the wall as some restrained tears slipped down her cheeks. It'd been far more painful to get through just those couple hours than she thought, even with Ichigo and Mashiro's help. She paused for only a few moments to once more push all the pain and fear down before moving off the wall and finishing her climb.

Her head was pounding from the growing headache she had and the stress from the discussion. What made it worse, was the fact that during the entire thing, Kensei had avoided so much as looking in their direction. She was sure she even saw him leave part way through it, which only took an extra harsh toll. She'd wanted to assure him about why she chose to keep him till last, but now she just wanted to leave.

As she reached the front door and moved to step through the barrier, she sensed someone behind her and felt them grip her arm, turning her toward them. Her stomach and jaw about dropped when she saw it was none other than Kensei. He looked like he was struggling with something as he stood there, staring at her. Instantly a set of images exploded through her mind and she felt the urge to run, or scream in his face, or something...but Soyokaze's words kept her from any drastic actions as the images were forcibly suppressed.

"Can this wait?" she asked slowly, resisting the urge to rip her arm out of his grip.

"No," he answered firmly. He opened his mouth several times to say something, but seemed to be struggling to figure out how to word what was on his mind. "Are you sure this is how you want to do things?" She stared at the ground silently. She was surprised he knew her plan already, but reasoned he must have stayed close enough to listen to everything, but kept her from seeing him. "Are you going to wait an entire week before talking to me?"

His question startled her, and instead of fear, frustration bubbled up inside of her making her stare icily back at him. "You once made me wait for months before explaining yourself," she sot at him, pulling her arm free and backing away from him. "You can wait one week." He took a step forward and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "Look! I'm not...I'm not strong enough to do it yet."

Kensei grimaced at her declaration and clenched his fists in frustration. She was so torn in many directions that a part of her spitefully thought he deserved it...after everything he did to her. She froze as this thought careened through her mind and she had to shake it again. He took a step toward her and she backed up instinctively. Fear once more took up residence in her mind and she felt yet another tear escape her closed eyes.

"Please...K-Kensei," she whimpered, a few tears leaking down her cheeks. She hated how pathetic the plea sounded. "Believe me, I want nothing more than to pick up where we left off but, I know I can't until I've solidified everyone else here in my mind. It's just...it's too much without that support."

Kensei sighed, swallowing hard at the pained, terrified look on her face. "Alright," he murmured gently. "I'll wait one more week."

At his promise, she looked up at him and all the fear melted away as she saw the sincerity in his eyes. Slowly, her lips turned up and she felt her heart swell as she smiled as warmly as she could muster. "Thank you, Kensei," she murmured softly. Then she turned and walked out the door without looking back.

* * *

Shippoman: Sorry about the two month wait, but here's the chapter I've been working on. I hope the ending wasn't too pathetic for her.

Anyway, in the next chapter Yukiko starts making headway with the group of Vizards, but things get a little rougher the farther along she goes. Will her plan actually work, or will the mind destroying training make it impossible? Stay tuned to find out. And please remember to R&R. :D


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Yukiko?"

Said soul reaper was seated in a chair facing the vanity mirror in a small bedroom. She was busy taking slow calming breaths as she looked at the reflection of the golden haired man holding a pair of scissors.

"Yes, Rose, I want to be able to look into the mirror without seeing the hair _he_ gave me," she answered. "I need a new me...a current me. Please."

Rose nodded as he cautiously set the scissors down and picked up a hairbrush. "Alright then, any requests on style?" he asked, brushing out her long dark-red hair.

"I guess...something cute, happy...and maybe shoulder-length," she murmured thoughtfully. "I'm sorry if that doesn't help."

"Hmm...no I have the perfect thing," Rose began separating her hair into different sections before he began cutting, being sure to explain his every move.

This was surprisingly helpful for her, especially when she began closing her eyes. With her eyes closed, she could hear every snip, the falling of her hair, and the shifting of her hair in his hands. Mixed with the tug of her hair, the soft brushes of his hands and the scissors on the back of her neck, and the occasional breath on her scalp and she about wanted to split. All that was keeping her planted in the seat was not being able to see the scissors coming at her, Soyokaze's continuing reassurance, and the constant explanations of each action Rose was taking. Each time he mentioned the potentially deadly scissors, she would tense, feel his words come true, then relax again when they were put down. Each time he was proven right, each time he honestly explained himself drew her more and more at ease. By the time she heard the scissors close for the last time, her fears were mostly put to rest.

"All done," Rose murmured, slowly selling the scissors down one last time. "Tell me what you think."

Yukiko swallowed a few times, thinking about how he was more that capable of obliterating and good appearance she had. With Soyokaze's help, she finally sucked it up and opened her eyes. The moment she saw her appearance, she couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. Although her hair was straight as a pin, now it fell in waves down around her face, gently framing it. She was mildly startled the ends stopped near her chin, but Rose reassured her this was only because of the waves. Just as she'd asked, she now looked much happier, and even though her eyes were still sad, she almost couldn't tell she'd been imprisoned for over 100 years.

"I-It looks great, Rose," she murmured, turning to look right at him. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it, Yukiko," Rose chuckled. "Why don't you wait just outside while I clean up and we'll get going."

Yukiko nodded in agreement and stood up, pulling the large hair bib off of her in the process, and stepped out the door. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself as she thought about the hair cut. It'd gone better than she expected and was pleased to note she wasn't raring to get out. Instead, she was looking forward to the rest of the day.

It didn't take long for Rose to exit and when he did he was carrying a small case in one hand and a basket in the other. "Well then, shall we?" he asked with a warm smile.

Yukiko returned it and nodded. "Yes, Where are we off to?"

"How does relaxing by the river sound?"

"Perfect."

With that the pair made their way to the warehouse exit and left.

* * *

Kensei never was the most patient guy, and this really stood out to him as he watched Rose and Yukiko leave before following them. He knew he'd agreed to wait a week for her to be ready to talk, but all that meant was she couldn't know he was there.

Under that mentality, he picked a spot near a tree where he sat and watched them at the river's side. He watched Rose set down both items in his hands and pull out a blanket from the basket and laid it out on the ground before setting various food items on the cloth.

The next few hours were hard for him. The pair spent the time chatting about nothing, eating an early lunch, and then Rose opened the case and began playing the violin. Yukiko really seemed to enjoy this as she allowed a small smile to appear on her face. After he played a few songs, he handed the instrument to her and began giving her a lesson. She was terrible at it, as the area was filled with the screech of the bow roughly dragging across the strings.

Thankfully she didn't try to play for long. They remained at the river until the sun began to set. Then the two said their goodbyes and she went home.

Now if Kensei had been a more rational man, he would have gone home too. But, as this was not the case, he followed her to her appointment and watched her through the window. He was there until long after dark; watching her go through her meditation and rejoice after each success before finally passing out.

Only after she fell asleep did he return to the warehouse, tired and frustrated but pleased to see it was working. Unfortunately, his return caught the attention of a certain annoying blonde who once again stopped him in his tracks.

"So, back from your night of creeping?" Shinji asked with a wide grin.

"Buzz off," Kensei grunted, moving around the ex-captain. His progress was halted when his arm was grasped by the other man and held firm. "What now?" he growled.

"You're only making it harder on yourself," Shinji sighed. "It's only five more days until it's your turn. Just try to avoid her for a bit and keep your possessive, jealous tendencies to yourself."

Kensei glared at him for a long moment before yanking his arm out of his grip and continuing on his way. The blond wasn't wrong, but he wasn't about to admit it. He needed to show some form of patience when dealing with Yukiko, but it wasn't easy. He kept feeling like the longer he waited the better chances were that he'd lose her forever...all over again. Trying to force the thoughts to the back of his mind, he made his way up to his room and crashed on his bed. As he drifted off, he decided he'd try to take Shinji's suggestion under advisement and make himself scarce when she next came around.

* * *

After her success with Rose, Yukiko was more determined and excited than ever. The morning after, she almost flew back to the hideout and hugged Rose tightly around the middle when she greeted him. Her actions clearly surprised the others, but all she could do was smile at the blonde Vizard and then grin at Hachi and Mahiro.

Once she'd greeted everyone, she got Love's attention and the two headed out. She was a little disappointed Kensei wasn't visible but she was able to more easily keep her smile. The day was fun as they went to a movie theater to see an action flick. Yukiko was blown away seeing a screen that size and watching the show in full color. It felt so real to her. Love had to keep reminding her it was fake.

Next they went to what he called a boxing gym. It had a large square shaped thing that was raised off the ground with ropes surrounding the top, several punching bags, weights, jump ropes, and lots of other workout equipment. She eased some stress by punching the bags, jumping rope, and watching some guys punch each other in the square thing. Love explained the point of the sport and that the square thing was called a ring. It didn't make sense, but it was still interesting. By the time they were done, it was getting late lin the afternoon. The sky was a bright orange color as the sun began to set and she she smiled to herself as Love led the way back to the warehouse district.

Halfway back, they came across an alleyway when a couple teens had ganged up on a smaller and much weaker looking teen. They were all wearing what looked like school uniforms from the same school, but not the one she was familiar with. Somehow the scene was all too familiar to Yukiko as she had a flash of being in the middle of the fray herself.

In doing so, she felt her breath leave all together as a memory of Love abandoning her to her tormentors joined in. She blinked a few times to rid herself o the images and moved to turn away. She was certain Love had kept going, not bothering to help as he didn't know any of the boys present.

As she closed her eyes and took a step toward the warehouse, she heard a surprised shout and glanced around for the source. She was stunned to see Love had intervened, having grabbed both attacking boys by the collar and lifted them effortlessly off the ground. "If you can't face your opponent alone, then you can't call yourself a man," he grunted. "Needing a friend to gang up on someone obviously weaker than you only makes you look weak. Don't do it again."

The boys looked like they were about to wet themselves as Love set them back down. The moment he released their collars, they took off without looking back. The one who was being attacked slowly got to his feet, muttered his thanks, and left as well.

Yukiko waited until the three were gone before approaching the older soul reaper. "What made you step in?" she asked nervously.

"They were clearly trying to be men, but their actions were uncool," Love answered striking a pose. "Someone needed to teach them what being a man means."

Yukiko blinked in confusion before a few giggles escaped her. "You totally got all those lines from your magazines," she guessed.

"No, they were all my creation."

Yukiko laughed again knowing she'd been right. Seeing him step into a fight like that for a stupid reason made her feel as if her fears were unfounded. He would never leave her hanging in a fight against many people.

With her newfound respect for the dark ex-captain, the pair returned to the warehouse where Yukiko read a few of Love's comic magazines until she was ready to go home. Then she bid the group goodnight, noting Kensei's absence, then left. She was certain she was going to have a productive night.

* * *

"One more, Jun."

Kensei let loose a low groan as a large glass of amber liquid was placed in front of him. Beside it were seven more similar glasses, all empty save for a thin layer of amber on the bottom. It'd been over an hour since he stepped into "Samu-Rye", a small bar not far from the warehouse district of Karakura Town, and he'd been downing drinks ever since. All around him people were milling about, chatting, drinking and a few were even dancing close together. Behind the bar he was seated at, stood a rather short man with short, black hair that had receded quite a ways and was incredibly thin.

"Something on your mind, Kensei?" the bartender asked as he released the glass and picked up a cleaning rag. The Vizard ignored him as he picked up the offered glass and began downing the liquid. "You've been here less than two hours and you've already downed more liquor than normal for you in a night. In fact you've been drinking this much all week. What's wrong?"

"None of your business," Kensei grunted. He finished off the drink and added it to the line of empty glasses. "Another."

"Okay, it's pretty clear whatever this is has something to do with either a best friend or a girlfriend," Jun continued. Kensei glared hard at him, tapping his fingers as he waited for his alcohol. "I'll take that as a yes. Look, I'll give you one more, but only if you agree to vent. You keep drinking this much and you're likely to die from alcohol poisoning."

Kensei didn't answer and just waited. He didn't want to admit it, but drinking was the only thing he felt he could do to fully avoid Yukiko until it was time. It'd mostly worked, but constantly being sloshed was severely impairing his judgement. He'd almost completely followed her back to her apartment the last two nights, after Love and Lisa's outings with her. They'd hinted that something had gone wrong and he'd wanted to make sure she was alright. Luckily, Mashiro had teased him enough that he changed his mind. Tonight was no different.

Jun sighed heavily before filling another glass and placing it in front of Kensei. The Vizard reached for the drink but it was pulled out of reach. "I've known you for a long time, Kensei," he murmured. "You only drink this much when something really bad it going on."

Kensei's glare darkened before he snatched the glass out of the other man's hand. "Just keep bringing me my damn drinks," he growled out. Then he gulped down half the glass in one breath, staring at the counter.

"So, what happened with your girlfriend?" the bartender asked determinedly.

"She's not my girlfriend," the Vizard grunted.

"But there is a she," the bartender chuckled in relief. "So, are you wanting her to be a girlfriend and she doesn't? Did you break up? Or..."

"No," Kensei cut him off. The line of questions bringing up images of the very girl he was trying to get out of his mind, even just for a few hours. "I thought she was dead."

"Oh...but she recently turned back up?" the bartender asked in surprise. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah...no...I don't know." He drained his glass and Jun prepared another for him, encouraging him to continue. "She's not doing well. She survived being tortured by this fucking bastard but is having trouble recovering. I can't...she can't even look at me without freakin' out."

"That's...a problem," the bartender agreed. "Does she have any support?"

"Yeah...all my friends are stepping up," Kensei answered reluctantly. "They've been taking her out every day to do something. It's my turn the day after tomorrow. I have no idea what to do...what I can do that she hasn't already done."

"Hmm...you want to do something special for her," the bartender guessed. "Something your friends haven't tried already. Well, what all have they done?"

Kensei took a few gulps of his drink, anything to ease his mind. "Rose took her on a picnic and gave her a music lesson, Love took her to a move and gave her a boxing lesson, Lisa took her clothes shopping and then swimming, and Hiyori took her to the spa today."

"Wow, sounds like a pretty active girl," the bartender whistled. "Boxing's not something you usually hear about...though I guess that makes her a good fit for you." He coughed at the glare the silver haired man shot him and continued. "Well, it sounds like she likes a lot of different things so I guess I understand where your confusion comes to. But I guess as long as it's with you it probably won't matter what you do. She'll enjoy it."

"Bullshit!" Kensei nearly shouted slamming a fist on the counter. He took a moment to calm himself down before finishing off another glass. He was pleased to see that the bartender had another ready for him immediately. "She can't even look at me, much less talk to me. She's not going to enjoy anything I come up with."

"You're over thinking it," the bartender said quickly. "She sounds like a nice girl, that'll probably enjoy a nice place to eat, maybe even home cooking, and a chance to get to see a part of who you are. How long ago did you know her?"

"Years," Kensei answered simply. He wasn't going to say anything more than that. This human wouldn't buy it if he mentioned it'd been 107 years, two months, and 10 days. _"Geeze, never thought I'd kept track of the exact date that well,"_ he thought to himself.

"See, anything that shows her who you are, might help," Jun pointed out. "At the very least, not having a hangover or being slobbering drunk will."

"Keep your opinions to yerself," Kensei grunted. The last word slurred slightly, telling the Vizard he was worse off than he believed. He was starting to feel warm and knew he was drunk. His irritation had kept him from noticing the growing buzz.

"Alright, my bad," the bartender responded with raised hands. "Just trying to help. So what are you going to do now?"

Kensei scanned the man behind the counter for a moment, sizing him up and forcing his muddled brain to work a bit more. The man did have a point, albeit one the Vizard did not want to acknowledge. He could remember Yukiko specifically saying she needed to reacquaint herself with everyone all over again. Meaning man was also right about what she'd like to do. A series of what if questions hurtled through his increasingly fuzzy mind making him shake his head. Maybe he should head back, he'd figure it out tomorrow while the blonde moron was busy.

Without a word, Kensei got to his feet, left the appropriate amount of yen on the bar and walked out; making sure to hide the few times he almost stumbled on his way. He still had one more day to make it through before it was finally his turn to talk to her. Maybe...maybe by then, she'd be far enough along he'd finally be able to ask her his burning questions.

* * *

Shippoman: Sorry about the long wait. I had issues deciding whether to go into detail of all the days or just sum up most of them. After all, her reactions and mental state is mostly the same with all of them. Hopefully the next chapter will come up much faster.

Anyway, Yukiko's down to the last two Vizard, Shinji and Kensei. Her two ex-captains. Things aren't going to be nearly as simple or easy as the rest. But will she have enough support from the rest to make it through properly? Find out next chapter and please remember to R&R.


	17. Chapter 17

Shippoman: Sorry about the super long wait for this one. I've been distracted by work and other stories. And to top it off I'm moving again in a month. But as today is my birthday I wanted to make sure I get this out as well as one more. That's right, there should be a second chapter being posted later today. So look forward to that. And to those of you who are still reading this despite it being a three month gap, thank you so much for your continued wait and hopefully I'm still living up to your expectation of this story.

Now that that's done, ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Chapter 17:

"We'll be just fine," Shinji stated firmly as he brushed the dust of his hat. Not too far away, Ichigo and Hiyori were continuing his training and some of the resulting dust cloud made its way over to him and the rest of the spectators. "I have the whole day planned. It'll be like we're a couple."

"Saying shit like that is a good way to get yourself killed, Shinji," Lisa pointed out without looking up from her magazine.

"Kensei has been a bit on edge lately," Rose agreed. "It might be best not to antagonize him."

"He'll be fine," Shinji muttered, brushing their warnings aside. "Tonight will be so good, she'll be completely back to normal."

"You probably shouldn't be promising something so impossible, Shinji," Rose murmured lightly. "You know it's not that easy to get over something so traumatic."

Shinji rolled his eyes and frowned. "You lot have no faith in her or me," he grumbled. "You'll see what I mean."

Rose was about to protest when the conversation was cut short as Mashiro ran through the center of the group, being chased by a red blur. "Mashiro, give that back!" the red blur shouted.

Mashiro came to a halt ten feet away from the group as the blur stopped next to them. Shinji was surprised and amused to see the blur had been none other than Yukiko. She was frowning at Mashiro, leveling a light glare at her, and positioned so she could move right into flashstep the moment the green haired Vizard moved.

"I mean it, Mashiro, give it back," Yukiko demanded.

"Only if we get to spar," Mashiro conditioned.

"I told you I'd spar with you once this one day a person is over," Yukiko sighed. "That's just two more days. You can last that long."

"But you sparred with Hiyori yesterday," Mashiro pouted.

"Yes, because sparring was part of my day with her," Yukiko groaned. "Today is Shinji's day and tomorrow is Kensei's. After that...I'll spar with you. But I really don't know what all will happen after tomorrow."

Mashiro was going to argue some more, but Shinji decided to end it by appearing beside her, sliding the object out of her hands, and moving to Yukiko's side. After swiping the object, he took a moment or two to look it over. It was a small charm connected to a chain of silver. It could be added to a necklace, or left as is to be carried around. The charm itself was also silver in the shape of the squad nine flower. He realized it was the same charm her friends had gotten for her the last birthday she'd had in soul society. She'd taken to carrying it around as a lucky charm...though he was sure she hadn't taken it when she disappeared.

"Not fair, Shinji!" The blonde looked up at Mashiro's pouting face and just grinned at her. "I want my match!"

"Too bad, Mashiro," he taunted with a laugh. "Today's my day, and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest."

"What exactly are you expecting from this?" Yukiko asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Nothing more than you falling head over heels for me," Shinji explained dramatically. "You were after all...my first love." He was joking of course but that didn't stop him from pouring it on thicker. "Don't wait up for us guys. We'll be out all night."

"No we won't," Yukiko chuckled shaking her head. "Besides, I know that Kora from squad three was your first love. As was Lisa, Fuu from squad 10, Ayumi from squad 7,..."

"Okay, okay you got me," he exclaimed, cutting her off. "I may have had a few."

"A few?" Yukiko laughed. "Shinji, I heard you go on about so many women being your first love I lost count." Shinji looked her over in surprise and curiosity as he tried to figure out what her take on it was. Was she angry, irritated, offended? She quieted his concerns when she grinned at him. "I will be happy to be a friend though. Is that okay?"

Shinji caught sight of the old playful spark in her eye and grinned in return. Then he dramatically sighed and looked as forlorn as he could. "If that's all you're willing to be...then I guess I have no choice but to accept. You're such a heart breaker."

"Well, let's at least enjoy today before you're broken heart falls right out of your chest then," she teased.

She reached forward and took the charm back before hurrying up the stairs, waving goodbye to the others. Shinji chuckled lightly to himself before following after her. He was determined to make sure they had the perfect day.

First stop on his schedule was a carnival that had set up in one of the Market parking lots. It had a few rides, some games and of course delicious deserts. Yukiko seemed a little confused by the sight so he explained it as a more modern version of the festivals they had back in soul society. She accepted it with a nod and he told her to decide what she wanted to do while he bought them tickets.

After purchasing two wrist bands, because they were cheaper, he returned to her side and noted she was still looking in every direction; half in excitement and half in worry. Figuring he'd get the ball rolling, he picked the first place and took her over to the bumper cars. She seemed confused by the concept and watched what the other people were doing up until it was their turn. By the time she stepped into a car of her own he knew she'd figured out the point of it.

"Ready, Yukiko?" he called out, grabbing a yellow car and gripping the wheel in anticipation.

She nodded wordlessly and he had to wonder if she would actually be alright. Then the buzzer sounded as the ride started up and he floored it. Right away he could see she was having issues with the steering wheel, like all new comers, and he charged right into her. He laughed momentarily until he saw a spark of fear shoot through her and flinched, maybe this was a bad idea.

"Yukiko?" She looked up at him and frowned before her car shot forward and hit his before veering off awkwardly. He laughed when he saw the look of frustrated confusion that covered her face. "Hey, don't spin the wheel so much, just a little is enough to turn."

She looked at him, then at the wheel and tried again. This time she was able to dodge around some of the others and he went around knocking into each one in turn. He was a master and wouldn't let any of the others bump him. Just as the time was running out, he looked around for her and was suddenly rammed from behind. Spinning around in his seat, he noticed Yukiko grinning from ear to ear in triumph.

After the success with the bumper cars, Yukiko was a lot more vocal about attractions that she wanted to try out. They did everything: the zipper, a small coaster, a ride that spun you around as you pulled on the table in the middle of your cart, and finally the ferris wheel. She loved every one of them, laughing out loud after each one and thanking him for taking her. He did notice, however, that each one did cause a near trigger that she had to take a second to recover from. He had no idea exactly what was going through her mind but felt it was better to let her handle it herself.

They stayed most of the day at the carnival, trying out different games and treats until the sun began to set. Then he took her to his favorite place to view the city; hovering over top the Karakura Bridge.

"Wow, this is beautiful," she expressed staring out over the city as the sky became a red-orange canvas. "Do you come up here often?"

Shinji shrugged as he popped open a bag of sweets he'd gotten at the carnival. "Eh, often enough," he murmured. "It's a relaxing place to come when the hideout gets a bit too loud."

"Hehe, I think I can understand that," she expressed with a soft smile.

"Here, have some," he offered, holding out the bag to her.

She looked at it and slowly reached a hand inside, coming up with a piece of the fluffy substance and placing in her mouth. "Ah!" she exclaimed. "It vanished! What was that?"

"Cotton Candy," he laughed. "It's more or less super airy sugar with a little flavor thrown in. It dissolves really quickly when it's wet." He grabbed a piece himself and only put some of it in his mouth to show her.

"Wow...cool." She took another piece and chuckled as she ate it. "It's kind of fun." She smiled and looked over at him. "So, when did Kensei pick up cooking?"

Shinji laughed at that and shook his head. "Not long after we ended up here," he explained. "We found out pretty quickly that paying for food every time was getting expensive so we all sort of tried. Mashiro sucks at it, Hiyori burned her stuff, Love is decent but has some weird tastes, Rose has a tendency to make too little, Lisa is just too lazy, Hachi did a good job but is usually too busy holding the barrier in place to take the time, and as for me I prefer stuff that's really sweet so no one likes it when I cook. So Kensei more or less learned it out of necessity."

"I see," she giggled lightly and looked up at him. "It sounds like you all had to make some rather major changes to your life here."

"Yeah..." Shinji watched her for a moment as questions started coming to his mind. They were old questions that he wanted answered, but wouldn't force her to say. "So...mind if I ask what you did these past hundred plus years?"

Her smile faltered a bit and she sighed in response and stared off into the water far below them. "I believe I've already explained it," she muttered.

"I'm asking for a little more," he pointed out. "Not necessarily details, but at the very least give me something to understand what he did with me?"

She looked at him with sad eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry...but out of everyone, you and Kensei were the worst."

"Why? What did we do that was different, that was worse than the others?" he asked, trying to understand. He had a feeling Aizen may try to do something more for the two of them because of her relationship with them, but he wanted to know with more surety so he could help her more. He watched her chew on her bottom lip as her limbs began to shake. "If you don't want to, or can't share, then you don't have to. But I would like to know so I can help fix it."

"The two of you...I kept believing in until the end," she muttered sadly. "Just killing me over and over was not enough to make me believe you would do it for real. I knew you too well." Shinji nodded and waited with baited breath. They'd obviously done something other than try to kill her, but what depraved thing did they put her through to finally break her trust of them? "But...you took something worse...something I can never...I know it's not really gone...but I can still feel it. I still remember Kensei...those three..."

She couldn't finish her sentences and began crying as she wrapped her arms around herself. But what she'd said had been enough. Shinji got the message. The bastard really had destroyed her. He waited long enough for her to shake herself off before cautiously placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he expressed. "Forget I said anything. If you want you can head back home and I'll go back by myself."

He watched as Yukiko closed her eyes, took several deep breaths as she wiped the tears off her face before looking at him again. "No, there's one more thing I want to do tonight," she murmured, her voice cracking slightly. She cleared it before continuing. "Shinji, I would like to spar with you tonight."

"Uh, you sure?" he asked nervously. "I know you did fine with Hiyori and all, but..."

"I did just fine sparring with Youruichi, Kisuke, and Tessai as well," she pointed out. "I'll be fine. Please?"

He scratched the back of his head, not really wanting to tell her no but not certain doing so after their conversation was a good idea. "Alright, but I reserve the right to call it if I think you've had too much," he grumbled.

Her sad smile appeared again and she nodded her consent. Then the both of them made their way all the way back to the warehouse and down to the training grounds. "Hey, Hachi, you may want to add another layer or two to the barrier," he pointed out. "Yukiko and I are gonna get in a match."

He got a strange look from the pink haired man as well as the other Vizard before his request was followed. As he was looking over at the training Ichigo and Hiyori were currently engaged in, he spotted Yukiko talking to Mashiro in hushed tones for a moment before the green haired girl giggled and took off.

"What was that about?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing," she answered, stripping off her Gigai and getting into a position across from him. "If you don't mind, let's make this an escalation battle."

"Really?" Shinji asked raising an eyebrow. "Alright. If you're sure. How far do you want to take it?"

"Eventually I plan to use everything in my arsenal at least once," she pointed out. "You don't have to go any farther than pulling out your sword if you don't want to. I'm not going to say you'll have to release it in this fight...but I do plan on making you need your mask."

Shinji smirked at that. "That was a rather cocky statement," he chuckled, stretching a little. "We'll just have to see."

She nodded and took her stance, waiting for him to move. He took a few moments to size her up as her reiatsu began to flare around her. He began flaring his own as he noticed Mashiro return to watch and both Hiyori and Ichigo stop in their training to see. His momentary distraction cost him as he suddenly felt himself fly across the training ground after receiving a kick to the head.

"Oh come on, Shinji, I would have thought you of all people would remember rule number one," she teased lightly, as he extracted himself from the rubble of a boulder he'd crashed into. "Don't get distracted."

Shinji smirked at this and quickly returned to his feet before shooting toward her. His punch landed on the arm she threw up to block and they pushed against each other before finally breaking away. The next instant they collided in a frenzy of kicks and punches that were blocked and dodged on each part equally.

When they next separated, Yukiko lifted her hand and fired of a hado # 4. Shinji easily dodged it and used bakudo # 61. She was able to get out of the path of it before trapping him in a barrier of wind. Then she took her time murmuring the incantation for hado # 31 and charging it as large as she could. Only when it was about to strike her prison did she release her reiatsu.

Shinji grit his teeth when he saw the massive ball of energy flying at him and pulled his sword out to cut through it and bring it down toward his opponent. He was pleased she was able to get her own sword up in time to deflect his blow. "Not bad," he murmured, as they once against pushed against each other. "But it's clear you're still a little rusty."

"Well, going over 100 years without training will do that," she returned.

He was amused by her retort and they separated once more before bringing their swords together again and again in a sort of dance that rained sparks every time the metal connected. Then, after a particularly powerful push from Yukiko, he watched her release her blade and had the thought their fight was escalating rather fast. He couldn't help but wonder if she was trying to show off as much as she could before she lost her nerve.

After her swords release, Shinji was forced to keep his distance as her cutting wind would lash out no matter how close or far he was; and on one occasion it seemed to follow him. Then all at once the barrage of attacks stopped and he looked at her curiously. He noticed her attention had momentarily gone to the spectators where he could see that Kensei had finally decided to join them and was watching in seeming awe.

The blonde Vizard couldn't blame him for it as he began putting his blade away, believing the fight to be over. But to his surprise, Yukiko spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. "There's a reason I left you two for the end, Shinji, Kensei," she murmured. "And while yes part of it was because I needed the support of the rest before facing you, it was also because I wanted to be able to keep my promise to you. Do you remember? I never did get the chance to show you what I'd gained from my training."

Shinji was momentarily stunned by her declaration and he couldn't help the burning curiosity that filled him as she crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath. When she released it, her reiatsu exploded in a pillar of wind around her making it impossible to see what was going on, but as the blonde Vizard shielded himself from her wind, he felt his jaw dropping. "Did she really...?"

Seconds later, he heard above the torrent a single word: "Bankai". Finally the wind died down and he blinked in confusion a the seeming cocoon in front of him. What kind of bankai was that? Then all at once, the cocoon split and spread open into a pair of elegant and beautiful wings and she murmured it's name. "Amatsukaze."

He couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at the bankai of his ex-5th seat and marveled that she'd been able to reach that point. If Aizen hadn't taken her, how strong would she have been now? His thoughts were cut off as the wings before her flapped, drawing in wind from all directions and pulling it into a compressed ball. The pull was so great that Shinji felt himself being pulled toward it as well. "Incredible..." he muttered to himself.

Then all at once, the ball was released in his direction, quickly flattening out and spreading wide into a massive thin blade that flew in his direction. "Shit!" he exclaimed, as it struck his blade and pushed against him. He could feel it easily breaking through his block and quickly pulled his mask on.

As soon as it ended, he assessed the damage done to himself and noticed his left arm's sleeve was gone and the arm itself was tingling from the blow. Another shot like that and he may have to actually release his own blade just to survive it.

He quickly glanced around looking for his opponent and spotted Yukiko sinking toward the ground where she ended up sitting while leaning back on her hands, panting for air. Her bankai had disappeared and her sword was back in its sheath.

He flash stepped to the ground and walked towards where she was resting. As he drew closer, she caught his eye and grinned. "See, I told you you'd have to use your mask, Shinji," she laughed.

He realized his mask was still on, though it was cracked and seemed to be falling off. So he quickly removed it and plopped onto the ground beside her. "Yeah, yeah you did," he chuckled. "But seriously, you mastered bankai all the way back then?"

"I didn't master it," she muttered with a frown. "That was only the third time I'd gone into bankai...though it was the first time I ever used that attack. Pretty awesome right?"

"Yeah, pretty awesome," Shinji sighed scratching his head with his uninjured arm. Once again it looked like she was going to need some major training if she wanted to be able to use it in any real capacity. Something she said bothered him though. She said this was the third time she'd used it. He understood the first would have been when she reached it with Youruichi...but then when did she use it before this?

"So then, you used it the night you disappeared despite being told not to use it in combat?" Shinji glanced up to see it had been Kensei who'd spoken; who seemed to be panting for air. Now that he thought about it, this was definitely the same energy that had alerted him to her plight in the first place. Looking closer at the others, he realized Kensei wasn't the only one panting. What had happened?

He looked over at the ex-soul reaper and saw her grin sheepishly. "Yeah, but it was the only thing I could think of at the time," she admitted. "It almost worked too."

"Yukiko," Rose murmured once he'd regained his ability to speak. "Are you aware of what your bankai's ability is yet?"

"Well, not really," she admitted. "Like I said I'd only gone into it three times and this was the first time Amatsukaze explained an attack I could use. Why?"

"Because, you very nearly robbed all of us of oxygen completely," Lisa answered easily.

"What?!"

"She's right," Hiyori piped up in irritation. "The moment you started charging your attack, it suddenly became almost impossible to breathe."

"I nearly killed you just by charging?" Yukiko exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. She looked panicked and apologetic and for a moment, Shinji was able to see the girl he'd originally pointed in Kensei's direction. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," Love grunted. "Just learn all about it before you try it again."

"R-Right!" she stuttered. "Uh, how do I do that?"

Shinji pushed himself to his feet and approached her. "You meditate like you would to learn about your shikai," he explained. "However, the difference is you have to go into your inner world while in bankai and talk directly to your second release."

"I see, thank you," she expressed with a bow. "Well, I think I'm done for today. I'll be back tomorrow for my last day. After that, I'd be honored if you'd help me train my bankai. I'm gonna need it if I plan on fighting in this war."

"Sure thing," Shinji promised, ignoring the looks he'd gotten from the others. She smiled at him before walking off, disappearing up the stairs. He had a good feeling about how things went that day, despite the conversation they'd had before. He felt confident she should be able to make it through whatever the fake him had done...unless one included what she'd hinted at before. He hoped not.

* * *

Shippoman: Yukiko has one last day to go, but Shinji's starting to wonder if it's even possible for her to move past Kensei's memory after what she said. She showed off her bankai and has been given a hint about what kind of power she now has at her disposal. Stay tuned to see the conclusion of her visits and watch her train up for the coming war. Please remember to R&R. ;p


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

Yukiko had a lot on her mind as she headed for the exit of the Vizard headquarters. She had her conversation with Shinji running through her head and the implications the others had shown her regarding the nature of her bankai. Could she really be capable of removing the air from an area? It would definitely be useful in certain battles, but it could also be far too devastating to her comrades. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her friends. It was the whole reason she worked so hard to gain control over the rest of her abilities.

As she moved along, she spotted Kensei heading to the upper floors and felt her heart clench. Tomorrow would be his day...she needed to say something to reassure him. "Kensei!" she called out, getting him to stop. "Thank you for coming to see me fight. I wanted to make sure I could reveal it to you as well." He turned to look at her with his "resting pissed" face. "You remember the deal we made before right?" She saw him lift an eyebrow at her. "I-I would like it if we kept that...for our day tomorrow."

She almost laughed at how surprised his face looked when he looked down at her. "Uh, sure," he growled. She noticed a little red appearing on his neck and felt she'd done a good job.

The door within her shuddered at the look he gave her, but she ignored it as she gave as bright a smile as she could muster. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Kensei." With that she turned and rushed out the door, not trusting herself to look back without how much her face burned. Tomorrow was certainly going to be a difficult one for her, but she had to see it through to the end...no matter what.

* * *

It was early the next day that Kensei stood in front of a cracked mirror in his bedroom. He'd just finished getting changed after Love and Mashiro basically forced him to put something more on than the tank top and cargo pants. All they managed was to get him to change into a pair of jeans. He kept his piercing and absolutely refused to put on anything that had sleeves.

Eventually they gave up and finally left him alone, which he was grateful for. He needed to steel his nerves for this. He'd have the entire day alone with her and wanted to make sure he didn't cave or force her to touch him like he'd done before. No, she needed him to be stronger this time and he would do that.

"Oh, Kensei!"

He groaned at the sound of the voice and saw that of course Mashiro was sticking her head into his room. "What?" he demanded harshly.

"Come see for yourself," she giggled before rushing off.

He sighed in frustration before taking one last look in the mirror and stepping into the hallway that lead to the main part of the warehouse. "What the hell are you playing at this time, Mashiro?" he growled the moment he spotted her.

If she responded, he didn't hear it. He'd momentarily lost all sense of everything around him when he noticed standing next to the green haired annoyance was what he'd been looking forward to forever. Yukiko stood there in a light colored sundress, sandals, and an expression of pure embarrassment. Her hair was obviously styled by Rose as it framed her face and somehow made her green eyes look like they were sparkling; like they used to.

"So, um, ready to go, Kensei?" she asked nervously. She smiled at him and he noticed her lips had been painted and a little makeup was applied to her eyes as well. The ensemble really made them pop.

"Uh, yeah," he grunted jumping down to the level they were on. "Let's go."

He began to lead the way out the door and was astounded when he felt her tentatively touch his arm. Trying to figure out why, he glanced back and noticed she was looking in the opposite direction as her fingers seemed to be trying to slide between his arm and his body. Awkwardly, he moved his arms so she could fully loop hers with his.

His neck was getting really hot after this and he quickly turned away from her as he pulled her out the door; ignoring the many comments coming from the others during this. It was nothing but useless noise after all.

"So, what do you want to do?" Yukiko murmured. Her cheeks looked about as red as he felt his neck did.

Kensei scratched the back of his head as he thought it over. "I didn't really have anything specific," he muttered. He felt bad that he hadn't come to a decision about anything but he really had no idea what to do with her. Accept... "We could just go walking, and maybe chat away from everyone else."

He glanced over at her and saw a warm smile grace her features. Maybe he'd done better than he though? "That sound wonderful," she murmured, tightening her hold of his arm. "But where can we go to talk freely?"

"I know a place." He squeezed her hand with his arm and the two flash stepped away, him leading her across roof tops until they reached a small forest on the outskirts. "Here. No one will bug us here."

She looked around and nodded and he coughed a bit when her head rested against his arm. In doing so, he felt her body shaking a little and realized she was doing this despite the overwhelming fear. So to get her mind onto something else he cleared his throat to get her attention while walking forward, pulling her along with him.

"So, you were in soul society," he murmured. "Did you get to visit squad 9?"

"Yeah," she answered easily.

"How were they doing?"

"Actually pretty good." She went on to explain about her visit to the squad and how she discovered her four friends were still there and that the one plant she remembered had turned into a full orchard. She explained how while there she'd spent almost all her free time within the orchard trying to stay calm and meditate. "Oh and you'd love the new Lieutenant."

"Really?" he scoffed.

"Yes, really," she giggled, poking his side teasingly. "He's a very good Lieutenant from what I can tell and is taking his temporary position as acting Captain very seriously. Meaning he actually does his work. I'm actually worried he takes more onto his own shoulders than he should."

"Tch, a Lieutenant that actually does his work," Kensei murmured trying to figure out how that would feel. "Sounds like a good gig."

"Yeah, and the best part is, he's a fan." Kensei raised his pierced eyebrow at this and she laughed. "I'm serious. I don't know when the two of you met, but he was very interested when he found out I knew you and kept asking me to tell him more about you. He even has your tattoo."

"You're kidding," he grunted.

"Nope, he's got it right here." She tapped her left cheek as she spoke and giggled again. "When I saw it I couldn't help but stare, trying to figure out if it was really in reference to you or not. He eventually got sick of it and asked me what was up. I couldn't believe it when he more or less admitted you were his hero, or something. I think you'd like him."

"Tch, that's nice," Kensei sighed shaking his head. "But there's no way I'd get the chance. You know the intolerance of the soul society would never allow us back. We're monsters to them right now...nothing but hollows."

Yukiko stopped in her track and he glanced at her, curious to know what she was thinking. "But you're not just hollows. You're soul reapers. Strong and loyal soul reapers that spent all this time trying to take down the enemy of soul society. You deserve a second chance...just like I'm getting one."

"And what would you do if you were allowed back, but we weren't?" Kensei asked curiously.

"Then I'd say screw soul society. The only ones that ever made it bearable to live in were all of you," she expressed seriously. "If they wouldn't even allow you to live and come visit whenever, then I'd leave it in a heartbeat...just to be with all of you again."

Kensei chuckled at that and got them moving once more. "That's good to hear."

They lapsed into a semi-comfortable silence as they continued to walk through the forest, checking out the scenery and the animals that would occasionally cross their path. After awhile, Kensei found himself unable to hold back a question that had been burning inside of him since he realized she was afraid of him.

"Yukiko, what did Aizen have me do to you?" he finally asked. "I mean, no matter how rough or gruff I was with you or anyone else, you haven't been afraid of me. But now..."

"To be honest, you were the only one I clung to for so long," she almost whispered. The smile was gone now and he could feel her trembling even more. Maybe he really shouldn't have brought it up. "No matter how many times you killed me or hurt me, I was always able to brush it aside and say no that's not him. He would never. Every time I saw you in the illusions I always would go to your side, because I always felt safe with you."

Kensei was stunned by what she was saying. Being tortured for so long and she could honestly claim to have trusted him through all of it, even when she was losing trust in the others? But just long did it actually last? What had been the final straw?

"But then, he did something far worse," she continued. Her voice was cracking now under the strain and he stopped them again to let her focus on staying in control. "He shattered what I had...took the last piece of me clinging to my past. He took it and..."

"What did he do?" Kensei growled. He could feel his anger rising as he looked at the tears slipping from her trembling eyes and feel the hand on his arm shaking uncontrollably. His hollow sensed it as well and for the first time in years it hummed in pleasure at the anger. He ignored it and tried to place all his focus on the girl in front of him. "Yukiko, what did he do to reduce you to...?"

She cut him off as she suddenly released his arm and buried her face in his chest, a soft sob escaping her lips. "Please, Kensei, don't ask anymore. I don't remember," she sobbed openly. He cautiously wrapped his arms around her shuddering shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Just...please just hold me for a bit. I want this to be real. I want this to last."

Kensei squeezed her lightly, allowing one of his hands to gently stroke her back as she continued to bawl into his shirt, her fingers desperately grasping the front of it as if she was holding on for dear life. He wanted to know what had happened, what thing had been done to push her over the edge, but for the life of him he couldn't do it. Not when she was so distraught and begging him to keep her safe.

They stood still for a long time, just embracing each other. Kensei didn't say a word during all of it as he tried to allow her the time she needed to return to normal. Despite it, he couldn't help the small amount of pleasure he experienced knowing she'd done this on her own. That he was holding her again. Her scent reaching his nostrils making remember every time he'd carried her or had her close enough where he felt he was drowning in it and wishing he could be again. Just to get that sensation again, he lowered his head and placed a kiss on her hair, allowing him a chance to take a deep breath of her. He never wanted this sensation, this moment, to end.

But like all good things, she eventually got a hold of herself and slowly pulled out of his grasp. "I'm sorry about that," she murmured, brushing off the remnants of tears and trying to laugh. "And sorry about your shirt. I think I ruined it."

"It's fine," he grunted, trying to ignore the sensation of wetness on his shirt. It was actually fairly easy to do, especially when trying to ignore the lack of her pressed against him. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, a lot actually," she was smiling again and he was glad for that. "Well, let's finish our walk. Then maybe you can teach me a thing or two about cooking?"

He gestured for her to start moving and the two continued through the greenery. "You really want to learn?" he asked skeptically. "Or are you just wanting to see me do it?"

"No, I want to learn," she answered decisively. "That way I can cook something special for you one day."

He rolled his eyes at this but grinned despite himself. "Sure. I'll teach you something," he agreed.

After that, they fell into talking about things from the past and expressing things that irritate them about the current people as well. Kensei of course griped about the rest of the Vizards as well as Youruichi, Tessai, and Kisuke. Especially Kisuke. Yukiko found all of it to be funny and started telling him about her time with her four friends and what it was like meeting the new generation of soul society members. She even told him about facing off against Aizen, Tousen, and Gin to protect Byakuya. Something he ended up finding just as funny. To think just her wind barrier appearing was enough to put the two of them on guard and make Aizen's knowing smile fade was absolutely fantastic.

By the time they were done talking, they were back at the headquarters and it was almost time for dinner. So Kensei led her over to a kitchen she hadn't noticed before and locked the door. "To keep Mashiro from bugging us," he explained when she gave him a nervous look. Then he brought her over to the counter and they went through the ingredients available trying to figure out what to cook.

"How about stir fry?" she suggested, after a few moments of searching.

"Sure," he grunted. He grabbed what they needed for it and sliced the pork into small pieces, placing each into a pan. As he set that to frying, he grabbed some fresh vegetables and placed them onto the cutting board at which point he held a knife out to Yukiko. "Here, show me how you slice onions."

"Uh..." She wasn't too sure about this, but gingerly took the knife and made her first cut. It was really crooked and he could tell it probably slipped in her grip.

So, taking pity on her, he took up a spot directly behind her and moved his hands to cover hers. He could feel her hands tremble beneath his touch and ended up with his hollow grumbling about how he should just hit that while they were alone. "Here, like this," he murmured calmly. He helped her grip the knife properly, and hold one of the onion halves with the other. Then he slowly brought it down, allowing the blade to pass easily through the food. "You don't have to saw at it, just let the natural weight of the blade and the angle help it do its job."

"R-right," she stuttered.

She seemed to be trying to say something else as she set the blade down and Kensei once again heard his hollow encouraging him to do something he knew he shouldn't. He felt his hands take hers and slowly turn her around so she was facing him while he trapped her against the counter. Once again her scent was everywhere and he felt the heat rising in him once more. He lifted his hand and brushed the short strands out of her face and behind her ear.

"K-Kensei?" she murmured nervously.

Hearing his name spoken by a voice he believed he'd never hear again, her voice, made the words of his hollow all the more desirable. She wasn't pulling away from his touch, wasn't telling him to stop or slow down. Clearly this meant it was okay. He allowed one hand to slowly move over her cheek, ear, and hair until it latched onto the side of her head and pulled her forward.

There was no resistance on her part as he made sure to move slowly so she had ample time to stop him. But she didn't. He felt his lips smooth together with hers, tasting honey. He felt her freeze at the contact as well as shudder but he couldn't tell if it was fear or pleasure that caused it. So after a few moments of enjoying another kiss with her, he pulled back just enough to see her reaction. Control, he had to maintain control.

Her eyes were closed and he thought he saw her swallow hard. Believing he should end it there, he tried to take a step back, but then he felt her arms lift and wrap around his neck. He looked her in the eye and saw a silent plea in their depths. A plea that was accompanied by the sparkle in her eyes that seemed gone for good, until that moment.

This time she pulled him closer as she tried to stand on tiptoes to reach him and he could not deny her her request. They kissed again, and this time, his arms were around her pulling her in closer. His hands running over her back and sides, memorizing every inch of her as he fought to not go beneath the cloth. But he couldn't help moving his lips against her or smirking as she followed his lead.

As the kiss progressed, with neither wanting to stop, he felt her mouth open and naturally slid his tongue inside, exploring her mouth. He felt her moan at the touch and kept it going as she seemed to enjoy it.

Then all at once she pulled away from him and escaped from her confided area, retreating to a wall where she leaned against it, her hands pressed firmly against her head as tears fell down her cheeks. "Stop...please stop," she whimpered, her eyes closed and her entire body trembling.

"Yukiko," he murmured trying to get her attention.

As he spoke, her hold only tightened and she pulled farther away. And Kensei knew he couldn't approach her lightly and should probably just try and wait it out. He knew he'd pushed it too far allowing his tongue to get involved and probably should have stopped after the first kiss, but he couldn't leave her hanging when she was so clearly asking him to do it again. What had gone wrong?

"I-I'm sorry," she spluttered through her tears, moving toward the door. "But I-I can't..." He watched helplessly as she unlocked the door and pulled it open. "I'm so sorry...Kensei." Then she disappeared through it, flash stepping to the front door and out of sight.

"Yukiko!" he called after her, not wanting her to be alone right then.

His progress was stopped, however, as the blonde Vizard stood with a hand to his shoulder. "Let her go for now," he grumbled. "She's not completely alone, but you're only going to make it worse if you follow."

"Kensei, you big meanie!" Mashiro had also appeared and had stopped at the door to yell at him. "You hurt Ume." With that, she too ran through the door.

"Seriously, what did you do to set her off?" Shinji demanded.

"I don't know," Kensei groaned, stepping back into the kitchen and debating about whether or not to finish cooking.

"Well, what did you do in here?" the blonde asked trying to make his voice less accusing.

"We were just cooking," the silver haired Vizard muttered. "Then...I kissed her."

"And that's all it took?" Shinji asked. If that was the case he thought he knew where the fear had come from.

"No, she actually seemed to have liked it," Kensei answered, running a hand through his hair. I was going to leave it at that and go back to cooking, but she silently asked me for another. I don't know, maybe that alone pushed it over, or when I couldn't ignore her open mouth."

"Okay, I don't need all the gross details," Shinji cut him off waving his hands in emphasis. "I get it, you kissed her twice and on the second one it was turning into more of a make out. Then she just freaked?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't do anything else, or try to do anything else?"

Kensei gave him a look, daring him to finish his suggestion but the other just through up his hands again in defense.

"I got it, nothing else happened," he agreed. "Well, maybe you took one too many steps. Steps she wanted to handle, thought she could handle, and found she couldn't. Don't beat yourself up. She'll be back here tomorrow and everything'll be fine."

"Sure," Kensei grunted again. He didn't think the blonde was right, but wanted to believe it. So he returned to his cooking, finished the meal and set aside a helping in the fridge, for Yukiko when she came back. "You can beat this," he thought to himself. "You can beat him, Yukiko. Whatever you do, don't stop fighting."

* * *

Shippoman: Yukiko and Kensei were finally able to have some time alone and were even able to have some rather cute moments. But once again her memories got in the way and had to rush off. Poor Kensei's confused by what set her off but Shinji's pretty certain he knows now. Next chapter, find out Yukiko's side to this moment and see how things progress from here. Stay tuned and please remember to R&R. ;p

*note* Just as a side note, the cute little hug fest in the forest was inspired by the song "Hold me Now" by Red. Take a listen to it and you can see why I had to add it in.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

"K-Kensei?"

Yukiko was surprised by the gesture her ex-captain had made. He'd never been that physical when it came to touching her before; aside from sparring and their one kiss anyway. She was having a hard time breathing as his hand continued to gently travel over her cheeks and grip the back of her head.

" _No, stop him! You can't handle that right now!_ " Soyokaze cried out.

Yukiko suddenly became aware of Kensei's door shaking and realized what he was about to do. However, the idea of pulling away now left a bad taste in her mouth. " _No, Soyokaze, I-I want to try._ "

Slowly, she felt him pull her forward as anticipation made her heart speed up. She could remember the feel of his lips and wanted to feel them again, to taste them. So, she didn't stop him and soon felt his lips smooth together with hers. She froze initially waiting for the door to fly open and make her push him off or something...but nothing happened.

The kiss ended and she evaluated what was going through her, but noticed that other than her rappidly beating heart, nothing had changed. His door continued to rattle lightly, warning that she was taking a risk, but all the memories that she'd gone through of everyone else told her that this Kensei wouldn't hurt her, that he was the one she kept wishing would come save her.

Just as she was understanding how she handled the kiss, a second one started and she felt her breath leave her. This was the real Kensei, her Kensei. He was holding her in his arms and kissing her. Finally, she was able to relax and notice that he tasted spicy, which made sense as they were cooking a spicy dish and he had tasted some of it.

Again the kiss ended and again the door shuddered, though this time it was a bit harder. Soyokaze warned Yukiko to leave it at that as a victory and get back to cooking. A part of her realized her sword was right, she shouldn't temp fate any more than she had...but, she didn't want it to end. She swallowed hard as she fought down her fears and opened her eyes to stare into his.

He looked worried and was pulling away from her. She realized he thought he'd done too much, and she wondered if whether he would ever do that again if he pulled back now. No, she wouldn't think like that, right now she just wanted a bit more. She wanted him to kiss her without holding back, even if just for a moment...like he did all those years ago, surrounded by her wind.

So, biting back her reservations and ignoring Soyokaze's warning, she wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him from pulling away any farther. She wanted to tell him that she wanted one more, but the words died in her throat so she put every once of that desire she could into the look she gave him. Then slowly, she pulled him down a bit while standing on tiptoes to reach him better and to her delight he granted her wish.

Once more he was kissing her and her mind went fuzzy as she felt him map out her body with his hands. She couldn't focus on that, however, as his mouth began moving against hers and she tried to follow until his tongue dipped inside. This came as a surprise to her, but unlike the stranger that had done it, this time she found herself enjoying the feel and moaning in delight. Oh how much she'd wanted this, and now she was finally experiencing being with Kensei and it felt good.

Then all at once, the good feelings were gone. " _Yukiko! I can't hold it!_ "

The shout was the only warning she had before his door burst open and memories came flooding back. She fought them off as best as she could, but by the time she was able to open her closed eyes again, she was in a corner, curled up and crying. She looked up to see Kensei watching her with worry and guilt in his eyes. She hated herself. If she'd just heeded the warning signs, she wouldn't have hurt him, again. But, how could she possibly explain what was running through her mind in that moment?

"Yukiko," she heard him murmur. He sounded as if he was in so much pain and her tears poured faster down her cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry," she spluttered through her tears, moving toward the door. "But I-I can't..." She turned away from him, unlocked the door and pulled it open. "I'm so sorry...Kensei." Her heart was breaking as her inner self fought with Soyokaze to push all the memories behind the door, but it didn't seem to be working.

She darted through the kitchen door and out of the warehouse, moving as fast as she could back to her lone apartment. She could hear Soyokaze scolding her as they finally locked the memories away now that Kensei wasn't nearby. She knew her sword was right, but not going through with any of those kisses would have been torture...for both of them. At least now she understood that she could handle the light ones...but one with all that emotion tied to it was just too much.

"I'm so sorry, Kensei," she said to herself, stepping into her room and collapsing onto her bed.

It was still early and she hadn't eaten, but she didn't feel very hungry after all that either. In fact, she felt sick to her stomach. True, she had come a long way since coming to the world of the living, but she feared that her stunt that night had made her regress. She'd always known fixing her views on Kensei would be harder than anyone else, but she'd clearly underestimated just how difficult it would be.

" _Yukiko, you need to get some rest_ ," Soyokaze murmured, once the shuddering fully stopped. " _If you do, you should have enough time to get some meditation in. Though I'd rather you wait until tomorrow to do that._ "

" _You know I can't, Soyokaze,_ " Yukiko said, turning over on her bed. Her eyes were closed now as she fully entered her inner world. " _I'll rest, but I have to try at least once tonight. I have to._ "

After that, she fell asleep for a couple hours before her sword woke her and she sat up to begin her meditation.

* * *

When she went back to the Vizard's hideout the next morning, she was exhausted and depressed. She'd gotten dressed enough to keep Lisa and Rose off her back, but she couldn't bring herself to smile normally. Not after the mediation session she'd had the night before. What made it worse, was because she'd promised Mashiro a sparring session after her week was over, that meant that the moment she walked through those doors, she'd be pulled into another fight. She was not looking forward to that.

As expected, the moment she stepped through the doors she heard a loud shout and suddenly had her vision filled with nothing but green. "Ume! Yay, you're back!" She pulled back just enough to give Yukiko a huge grin, which did somehow manage to lift her spirits. "Don't let what Kensei did to you last night ruin your fun with us. He's just a stupid meanie. Let's go spar!"

The ex-fifth seat chuckled at this despite everything going through her head and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's go spar."

The two raced down to the training grounds where the rest of the Vizard were hanging out and watching Ichigo. Even Kensei was among them. Mashiro announced to everyone they would be sparring the moment they came within earshot and immediately rushed out to a point across from Yukiko, stretching her legs.

"You ready, Mashiro?" Yukiko called out, stretching as well. She knew sparring with Mashiro was always a chore. The woman didn't know how to hold back after all, and the ex-fifth seat ws very aware that if the other brought out her mask she'd be in trouble.

"Oi, Mashiro, no bringing out the mask, alright!" Yukiko smiled to herself at Shinji's order making her feel relieved. He was more aware than the rest of the Vizard what was going on with her after all.

Unfortunately the other didn't seem to hear or care as she immediately pulled on her mask and shot forward. Yukiko barely had enough time to block the blow, making her slide back through the dirt. The initial burst of fear at knowing the mask was going on all but vanished. That blow was stronger, but it was definitely Mashiro.

She allowed a smile to spread across her face as she began to dodge or block each of Mashiro's attacks. Each one seeming faster than the next, making it impossible for her to counter attack.

Then Yukiko heard someone yell at Mashiro to let up just as she drove a powerful kick into her arms sending her flying across the room. She heard several exclamations of anger and surprise, a few of the onlookers calling out to her.

"Are you alright?" Soyokaze asked from inside.

Yukiko didn't answer at first as she slowly pushed herself up from the rubble. She could feel a few doors shuddering, but that didn't last long as Mashiro called out to her.

"Ah, is that all you've got now, Ume? You've gotten slower."

Yukiko chuckled as she slowly got to her feet and smirked at her opponent. "Well, 107 years of no training with render anyone rusty," she murmured.

Inside she was struggling to comprehend something. "Did I really manage to see her last attack? It was so fast before. Is she slowing or something?"

"Yukiko, don't get distracted!"

Soyokaze's cry jolted Yukiko out of her thoughts as her opponent flew toward her with both feet aimed at her chest. "Mashiro….Drop Kick!"

Yukiko was able to see it coming just in time to jump to the side where she immediately had to block another kick. She dodged and blocked attack after attack, each one becoming easier to see clearly. It didn't make sense that Mashiro's hollow boosted speed was becoming easier to see through, but she wasn't going to question it either.

As another super kick was directed at her, she took it with her left arm, stepped to the side, and sent her own kick into Mashiro's chest. The vizard was sent flying across the training area, skidding to a halt some twenty yards away. Yukiko blinked a few times, looking at her hands, then back at Mashiro. Said vaizard had removed her mask and was standing up fully, her eyes sparkling in delight.

"Ume! That was awesome!" she shouted, jumping up and down.

Yukiko was amazed she'd landed a hit at all and glanced around, looking for confirmation about her hit. She noticed everyone that had been watching their fight seemed to be frozen mid stride, as if they'd been about to stop the fight. In fact, they appeared as stunned by what happened as she was.

"I...I scored a hit," she laughed.

Then, all at once, her eyes went out of focus as she realized she'd used far more power than she believed. She became distantly aware of her loss of balance as her body tipped over and the ground rushed up to meet her. However, instead of the jarring impact she was expecting, she felt arms wrap around her and gently lower her to the ground.

* * *

"Yukiko!"

The Vizard were by her side in an instant, Kensei having caught her before she hit the ground. Hachi quickly checked her over before smiling. "She's just exhausted," he explained easily. "I doubt she realized how much power she was putting out while trying to follow Mashiro."

"Yeah, that sounds about normal for her," Lisa sighed, turning back to her spot to return to her magazine.

"It was impressive of her to build up enough speed to catch her though," Rose pointed out, looking her over.

"Heh, she's always had a shit ton of power," Love chuckled.

The two ex-captains returned to what they were doing as well, leaving the girl's superiors alone. "She's going to give one of us a heart attack one of these days," Shinji sighed shaking his head. "But it's probably best if she doesn't stay passed out all day. I'll ask Orihime to help her out when she gets in."

"That friend of Ichigo's?" Kensei muttered, thinking about the orange haired girl from the teen's school.

"Yep, we already called her over to heal up Ichigo so he could return to his own training after all," Shinji answered with a smirk.

"And by call, I guess that's where Hiyori went," Kensei said in irritation.

"Of course, who else would we send?"

The silver haired Vizard rolled his eyes at the blonde as he lifted Yukiko into his arms, her tired frame pressing against his own, dragging up memories of years past. As he turned to take her someplace more comfortable, his path was blocked by the green-haired annoyance.

"Awe, is my match with Ume over already?" she demanded.

"We warned you to go easy on this fight and you didn't listen, so yeah it's over," Kensei shot at her.

"That's so not fair though," Mashiro complained. "She had longer fights with Shinji and Hiyori."

"They also weren't using their full strength," Kensei growled, glaring daggers at her. "You could have seriously hurt her, idiot."

Mashiro stuck her tongue out at him as she pouted, but he ignored it. Instead he moved over to a cleared area and lay her down, her head resting on his lap. He knew there was the chance she'd freak if she woke up to see him leaning over her, but he wanted to giver her a sign that he was going to look out for her. Something simple to show how much she meant to him.

He waited in silence, ignoring the other around him as he gently stroked her head, moving the loose hair out of her sweaty face. He looked her over every once in awhile, noticing a few bruises appearing on her arms and legs. She probably hadn't even noticed the amount of damage Mashiro was doing to her. The idiot. She always did push herself too hard.

Eventually Orihime showed up and got to work healing Ichigo the moment she saw him. It didn't take long for the annoying teen to be back on his feet and having Hiyori dragging him off to train some more. Realizing he'd better move fast, Kensei gently laid Yukiko's head on the ground before dashing over to Orihime's side and dragging her back to his ex-10th seat.

"Ume!" she exclaimed, the moment she saw her. "What happened to her? There are bruises everywhere!"

"She was sparring with Mashiro who can't hold back," Kensei grunted. "Just heal her."

"Of course!" She put out her hands and once again the three pieces of her barrette came out and surrounded the ex-soul reaper.

Slowly, the bruises began to fade and Yukiko's eyes fluttered open. After a moment or two, she began looking around, her eyes settling on the woman healing her.

"Orihime?" she asked slowly. "I wasn't that bad off, was I?"

"You got the shit beat out of you," Kensei said before Orihime could get her mouth open. "And you over did it again."

Her eyes slipped to him when he spoke and he could see the flicker of fear and uncertainty cross over them. But it faded and she forced herself to sit up as she looked away. "You really shouldn't be moving just yet, Ume," she said quickly. "You haven't completely healed."

"I'm fine," Yukiko said, trying to get to her feet. She stopped almost instantly, however, and gripped her arms. "Okay, maybe I'm not...what happened?"

"Mashiro hits a lot harder with her mask on, idiot," Kensei answered, dropping his fist on her head in irritation. "You were so caught up in trying to keep up with her you never noticed." He felt amused by the glare she shot him and smirked. "She could've snapped your arm if your match kept going."

Yukiko took several deep breaths before smirking up at Kensei. He was thrown for a loop at the expression, as he couldn't ever remember her directing that look at him. "I would have been just fine," she told him. "Mashiro would have never hit me hard enough to break bones. Stupid, mean-Kensei."

He just stared at her for a few moments, wondering if maybe she'd hit her head and thought she was the green-haired Vizard. Then he watched her smirk degrade as she fell into a fit of restrained giggles. "What the hell was that?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," she laughed, wiping her eyes. "You were being a bit harsh and I wanted to show it. The expression on your face was well worth acting like Mashiro for a moment."

Kensei sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, though he had to hide the grin that wanted to appear. The fact she could laugh so freely, and act like Mashiro so perfectly told him she'd come a lot farther than he believed she could. When he finally got a hold of himself, he noticed she was getting to her feet again, ignoring Orihime's protests. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"Home," she answered without looking at him. "I think I've spent too much energy here for today. I'll be back tomorrow to start my bankai training though."

"Yukiko." Something didn't feel right. Her entire demeanor seemed to change in the blink of an eye again. Instinctively, he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling her trembling beneath his fingers. What was going on? After a few seconds, she jerked away from him, and continued toward the stairs like nothing happened.

He watched in confusion and pain as she walked away from him, smiling her farewells to the others and giving out hugs to all but Shinji. "I'll see you all tomorrow," she promised. "Please help me get strong enough to help during the war."

The other Vizard all promised to do so in their own way, Kensei watching on with clenched fists. What had he done wrong? What happened this time? All he did was try and make sure she was alright, but still nothing changed. She was afraid of him and didn't want him touching her. Though they'd shared those two long embraces just the day before. What was different now? He hated to think of it, but felt that no matter what he did or tried, she would never be his. Her heart would never belong to him and would eventually be given to someone else. This was his punishment for letting her go in the first place.

* * *

Shippoman: Sorry about the SUPER long wait. I've been dealing with a lot these past few months and working off and on with this chapter. I hope its up to the same standards as the rest though, and didn't jump around too much. So in June my husband quit his job in anticipation for a move that happened two months later. I spent those two months working, packing, and cleaning our apartment. Then moving day came and we still weren't ready. We suck at moving. After the move I had to focus on finding a job, which I did. And finally I was able to write again but had my focus placed more on stories I'm writing with my co-writer Copper Moon.

Anyway, enough about my crappy life. On with the chapter pre-view!

Yukiko's made some amazing headway, and is even finding ways to get even stronger than before, however, there's still some major lingering issues. Kensei's losing hope of getting the old Yukiko back again. Will there be anything that can help the two bridge the gap created by 107 years of separation and some unknown torture? Stay tuned to find out.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

"Yukiko, you know you can't keep doing that."

Yukiko frowned to herself as she glanced at the retreating back of Kensei. It'd been about a week and a half since she began training with the Vizard in controlling her bankai and once again she'd pushed the large man away. She couldn't help it, anytime he drew too near, or they ended up alone together, she'd panic and try to think of what would make him want to walk away. Her only solution was to act like Mashiro in some way.

She really wasn't the type of person to pout or act childishly and knew Kensei would eventually figure that out, she was sure Shinji already had. But his dislike of dealing with the green haired woman meant that if she acted the same way, he'd lose his desire to be close and back away. So far, it worked. But every time she did that, her heart ached at the look he gave her. She hated pushing him away, but the thought of physically pushing him or screaming at him or something like that spurred her to repeat the action again and again.

"I know, but you saw the only memory of his I can't get through. I don't know what'll happen if he gets that close again."

In her mind, the little nightingale flitted around her, clearly frowning. "Yukiko, you need to talk to him. Tell him what's wrong, something. By dodging him and playing as Mashiro, you're only making things worse. You can't bridge that gap by lying."

"I know that." The inner version of the ex-soul reaper slipped to the floor of the long hallway of her mind, the door to her right shuddering a little. "But the only way I can think of to rid myself of that memory may make me hurt him first...and I can't do that again!"

"Don't you think this act of yours is hurting him just as much?"

Yukiko didn't answer, her hands clenching into fists at the thought. She knew there was the chance that her dodging his attempts were only hurting him, but that small part of her that desperately wanted him to be okay kept telling her this was better.

She blinked a few times, the light of the training grounds surrounding her as she got to her feet. Her bankai had run out a long time ago and she'd spent the remainder of her time trying to recover and not end up alone with the silver haired Vizard. As she glanced around, she spotted Shinji who was giving her a strange look she couldn't decipher. "Well, I guess it's time to go," she announced, brushing off her shihakusho. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Yukiko, we are going to try using that technique of yours again tomorrow, so please get some rest," Rose called out from where he sat. She nodded her understanding before leaving the training grounds and then the warehouse.

The trek back to her apartment was long, and she took the time between to clear her head and admire her surroundings. Stars were beginning to appear in the sky as the color shifted from the bright orange to a purple. The sunset was beautiful, and proved to ease her aching soul. She paused for a moment, drinking in the beauty and taking a deep calming breath. If only there was a faster way to get over this…

Her musings were interrupted as someone appeared in front of her, making her jump and reach for her invisible sword. She paused, however, when she saw who it was. "Oh, captain Hitsugaya, did you need something?" she asked, relaxing somewhat.

"The Head Captain is calling for you," he answered calmly, gesturing for her to follow him. She did so without any complaints.

As they leapt through the air, she observed the seeming child before her. Over the time she'd known the small captain, he always seemed bothered by everyone that addressed him, but not when it came from her. She theorized it was because of the respect she showed him while everyone else seemed a bit too candid. But then again, she didn't understand why she shouldn't show some respect. He'd reached the level of a captain after all, and the fact he was so young in doing so only made it that much more impressive to her. He deserved her respect.

In a short amount of time they reached an area of housing that was familiar. She realized the rooftop they landed on was the one she'd seen them after their battle with the arrancar. To her surprise, he led her to the window of one of the rooms and climbed inside. Confused, and feeling a bit intrusive, she followed him inside and almost jumped at the massive screen staring her in the face.

"Uh, where are we?" she asked nervously looking around at the empty apartment. "You guys didn't just take someone's apartment did you?"

"Nope, this is Orihime's place," Rangiku answered as she stepped into the room. Like usual, the clothes she was wearing looked as if they were going to burst at the seams because of her bosom.

"Is she really okay with this monstrosity in her home?" Yukiko asked looking around again. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen the woman since her sparring match over a week prior. "Where is she anyway?"

"She's fine with it," Rangiku assured her. "She even said we could continue using her place while she goes to the soul society to train with Rukia."

That explained a few things.

"Yukiko."

Said ex-soul reaper almost jumped out of her gigai at the sound of the voice before seeing the owner standing clearly in the massive screen. "Head Captain," she greeted, once she got a hold of herself. She'd felt his door shudder within her, but not nearly as badly as before. Seemed not being able to sense his energy helped immensely. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes. You've been silent these past weeks," he said harshly. "Your lack of reports has had me wondering about the validity of your continued stay in the world of the living."

"Oh." Yukiko swallowed hard at this. She'd entirely forgotten that she was supposed to be sending back weekly updates on her progress. "I apologize for my negligence. However, these past weeks have proven to be quite informative."

"Explain."

Yukiko took a deep breath, trying to sort through all she'd learned and accomplished and determine how much of it she should share. "About three weeks ago I came up with a potential plan to make my recovery that much easier. With help from Youruichi, Kisuke, and Tessai, I was able to test my theory and discovered its effectiveness."

"And what theory was this?"

"The idea is that my memories of the past are far too jumbled for me to ever truly work through them and properly determine which are real. So instead I need to focus on who these people are now. I decided to test it by spending a day with each of the three in turn. And at the end of each day, utilize meditation to sort through the memories containing them until I've solidified who they are to me now. For the three in question it has been successful."

There was silence following her explanation as the group studied her. "So, you believe that spending time with those from your past will rectify the damage Aizen has wrought?"

Yukiko nodded. "So far, it has been successful. And since a few memories do overlap with others, I have made strides with others as well, though not as great. There are still times where I need to take time to get my head on straight, even with them, but they are much fewer and farther between. I believe that if I were to return to soul society, this method would allow me to handle being with everyone once more."

"How long do you believe it would take to complete?"

Yukiko shook her head at this question. "I don't know. There are some memories that are not so easily dissuaded, but even without them, it could still take years to undo the damage."

Yamamoto nodded his understanding. "And have you solidified the traitorous three in your mind yet?"

Yukiko blanched at the question and slowly shook her head. "No, sir. I-I'm not certain if I can."

His countenance seemed to darken a little at her answer and she knew she was in hot water. Her promise regarding her failure surfaced to her mind and she shivered. Would she really have to follow through with it?

"Captain Hitsugaya, check in with Urahara regarding his thoughts on her progress and report back. Yukiko, you have two months to make greater progress. Do not forget to report in every week, or I may be forced to have you keep your promise before your time is up."

Yukiko felt weak at this declaration as the screen once more went black. Her time would be cut short if she forgot to report in again, meaning she'd have to go to the maggot's nest. After all the effort Shinji and Kensei put in to keep her out.

After saying her goodbyes to the little captain, she left the apartment and started walking down the street. "What am I going to do?" She asked her sword in depression. "I can't really do anything about those three. What do I do if I can't solidify them in my head?"

" Well you did promise to go to the maggots nest if you fail," Soyokaze reminded her.

"I know, but I really don't want to. It'd be such a waste after all the progress we made."

She waved goodbye to the tiny captain before leaving the apartment in a sort of fog. Her mind was reeling at what she'd learned and her heart ached. She had a month, maybe more to make a satisfactory amount of progress, but how was she supposed to? Realistically she couldn't spend any time getting to know the current trio of traitors to decide she didn't like them, nor could she feasibly return to soul society to spend time with the captains there. They didn't have time, she didn't have time.

"Ugh, what am I supposed to do?!"

Surprisingly, there was no answer to her internal scream. Soyokaze seemed just as lost as she was. She sighed heavily to herself and leaned against the nearest wall, just wanting to disappear inside it to avoid everything going on around her. Even though she was working as hard as she could to break out of Aizen's hold, she seemed to be letting everyone down, even herself.

She halfheartedly looked around herself to see how far she was from her apartment when she realized she'd gone in the wrong direction. Her tired eyes settled onto the Urahara Shop that sat several feet ahead of her as she leaned against the surrounding wall. Why had she come here of all places? She didn't know, but somehow, seeing the place where her old friends resided brought her a sense of hope.

She stepped forward into the yard as the two children came outside. They seemed to be closing up shop as they spotted Yukiko approaching and stopped.

"What do you want?" Ginta asked, placing his fists on his hip.

Yukiko could hear her blade scolding her for being there but she ignored it. "Is Kisuke here?" she asked.

"The owner is busy in his lab at the moment," Ururu answered with a bow. "Do you want to wait inside?"

Yukiko smiled and nodded at this as the two children go into a small spat as to whether or not they should have allowed her inside. She ignored this and stepped inside.

As soon as she opened the door to the back area, she spotted Tessai moving a few boxes around. He seemed to be cleaning up the store or something. He acknowledged her presence with a single nod before moving on. She planned on sitting at their table to wait and think about what she wanted to say to her old friend, but decided she should get a little more practice in and headed into the training area instead.

When she reached the bottom of the tall ladder, she did a few stretches to loosen her aching muscles. Then she stretched out her hands and prepared to practice using just her reiatsu, releasing the block on her gigai. Almost immediately she froze as she was bombarded by the energy of two clashing powers. Seconds later, what looked like a snake head rose above the rocky terrain with a person being pushed by the nose.

"Is that...Chad?"

"Seems like it."

"Who's sword is that though?"

"I believe it's the bankai of the 6th squad's lieutenant."

"You mean Renji?" Yukiko was stunned. She'd never seen the hotheaded lieutenant's bankai, much less expected he'd achieved it. "Wow, it looks pretty powerful."

"Yes, but something seems strange."

"What do you mean?"

"His spirit appears to be irritated, or perhaps disappointed." Yukiko noticed her own spirit close her eyes in thought, feeling the energy coming off the other. "It's almost as if it isn't quite...whole."

Yukiko didn't know what to make of that statement. She'd never seen a bankai not be whole...well, unless you counted the ones that had been broken before. But even then Soyokaze had never said they hadn't been whole. Just broken. Hearing her words, made her wonder about her own bankai. "Are we?"

Her sword giggled a little. "Yes."

Yukiko smiled and was about to respond when she felt someone land beside her. "Yukiko, what brings you here at this hour?"

She turned and smiled sheepishly at him. "Hi, Kisuke. Mind if we go somewhere a little more private?"

He seemed confused by her request but nodded and led the way back up the ladder to the main portion of the house. She followed silently, contemplating what it was she wanted, and what she wanted to say. Her eyes occasionally scanning the man before him. His green kimono really did seem to suit him better than the soul reaper shihakusho ever did, and it made him seem larger than he was. A part of her wondered why that was.

In a short amount of time, the pair reached an empty room which he entered and closed the door behind her. Only then did he move to one side and sit down on a small cushion, gesturing for her to do the same. She did so, crossing her legs and taking several breaths to allow her thoughts to clear.

"So, what's on your mind?"

Yukiko looked up at him and even though she still hadn't figured out why she stopped by in the first place, she found herself explaining about her meeting with the head captain. "But there's nothing I can really do to finish sorting through their memories. Not unless I spend time with them, and that's out of the question," she finished with a sigh.

"I see, that is rather distressing," Urahara agreed. "But then, what is it you want from me?"

She took one more moment to sort through her thoughts before answering. "From all the machines you've built, all the experiments you've conducted, is there anything you have that can help speed up this process for me?"

Urahara sighed. "Yukiko, this isn't something you can force. There are no shortcuts for your condition."

She shook her head vehemently. "I know that, but I need something. If I had more than these one or two months to get farther I wouldn't worry too much," she said firmly. "But, if I don't do something soon, I may end up going to the maggot's nest, negating all the effort you all went through to keep me out. If that happens I'll lose Soyokaze, and I won't be able to hold myself together anymore. She's the one keeping all these memories separated after all. I might end up regressing to that ball of fear Youruichi found me in. So please, if there's anything you can do to help, let me know."

Again he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "There is...one thing I could use."

"What is it?!"

Urahara held up his hands to stop her from saying anything more. "I'm only telling you this because you asked, but I highly suggest you take a different alternative."

"Why?"

"There are far too many risks involved." He once again stopped her from speaking. "I mean it. This method I have would force you to relive these memories in their entirety. You won't be able to stop them or manipulate them in anyway. You will simply be in an eternal loop until you've made a decision about those involved with the memories." Yukiko felt her stomach drop at the thought, but the surprises didn't stop there. "There's also no guarantee you'd come out the way you want much less waking up at all. If you cannot come to a decision you will not awaken after all. And even though we all hope it'd mean you could come out ready and capable of fighting of the traitorous trio...it's far more likely you'd end up being their ally and not ours."

* * *

Shippoman: Yukiko's in a tight spot. She slowly running out of time and doesn't seem to be progressing at a speed good enough for Yamamoto. With such a short amount of time left, will she be able to succeed before her deadline, or will she be forced to return to the maggot's nest? And if so, will she accept like she claimed? Stay tuned to find out. Next chapter, Yukiko makes a surprising decision that comes back to bite her. Please remember to R&R.


	21. Chapter 21

Shippoman: Sorry for the long space between updates, but I am slowly getting the rest of the story out. In fact I'd say I'm closing in on the end here. I probably only have at most five chapters left. I think. I did want to get this one out for Christmas but I guess I'm a day late...make that two. It's almost 1 AM here. Anyway, here's a special shout out to those that have been reviewing. Hearing what you think keeps me wanting to write more.

* * *

Chapter 21:

"...iko. Yukiko!"

The ex-soul reaper blinked as the voice reached her. Her eyes fell on her friends and saw several of them struggling for air. Instantly she released the energy needed to gather the air and returned her sword to its sheath before touch back on the ground.

"I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, rushing over to them. "Is everyone alright?

Almost instantly a fist landed on top of her head, courtesy of Kensei while the others recovered from their suffocation. "Where the hell was your head?" he demanded. "This isn't the same as your Shikai, you know. If you're not careful you could kill everyone around you."

"Don't you think I know that!" she shouted back at him. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down as she looked everyone over. "I'm sorry. I-I guess my head was somewhere else today."

"You mean for the past week," Shinji said giving her a pointed look. Yukiko reluctantly nodded and looked away from him. "Alright, why don't you take a moment to get your head on straight and try again."

She nodded again and went to sit down without meeting Kensei's gaze. _"Yukiko, you should tell them what you heard. They can help,"_ Soyokaze said the moment she took a seat.

" _No, Soyokaze, I can't,"_ Yukiko returned. _"I can't put that on them, you know that. I just have to get stronger and solidify those three in my mind."_

" _No, you have to confident in your relationships with many of the soul reapers and those three,"_ Soyokaze said seriously. _"Just saying you'll fight those three won't be enough. You know this."_

Yukiko felt her stomach drop and resisted the urge to curl up. She knew her sword was right. The soul society had a history of not allowing things that seemed threatening continue to exist, especially where she was concerned. Her uncontrolled power in the past, and now her uncontrolled mind. Unless she could prove she'd gained control like before she'd be locked away. But she'd hit a wall and hadn't progressed at all in over a week. She was running out of ideas, time, and especially hope.

She looked up and scanned the faces of those around her. Most had returned to what they were doing before to kill time. Hiyori had returned to training Ichigo once they'd regained their breath and Shinji was relaxing on a sofa while occasionally shooting her worried looks. Then he eyes landed on Kensei. He was avoiding looking in her direction and she could see his hands close into tight fists, the knuckles slowly turning white under the strain.

" _Kensei...I have to try again,"_ Yukiko murmured in her mind.

" _Yukiko, it nearly destroyed him the last time,"_ Soyokaze pointed out. _"It's not a good idea. You should really be focusing on your bankai and on figuring out how you're going to convince the head captain you're ready to fight."_

" _I know...and this is how I'm going to do that,"_ Yukiko said determinedly.

She got to her feet, ignoring her sword's protests and warnings, and slowly made her way over to her ex-captain. When she reached his side, she watched his hand relax as he turned to look at her. "Need something, Yukiko?" he asked, not quite meeting her gaze.

"Um...I was wondering if you'd like to spar with me for a bit," she answered slowly. He eyes lifted enough to meet hers and he raised his pierced eyebrow in question. "It's just been so long since the last time...and I figure I need something familiar to help me focus before I go back to using my bankai."

His eyes scanned her for a moment as she waited nervously. She was never able to decipher what he was thinking, but she hoped he'd say yes. To her surprise he smirked and got to his feet, brushing off his cargo pants. "Fine, but you know I never go easy on anyone," he said, pulling his combat knife from his boot.

Yukiko felt the knife plunge brutally into her chest, momentarily loosing the ability to breathe, but quickly shook it off and pulled her own sword free. "I haven't forgotten," she said, forcing a smile onto her own face to hide what had just happened. "I wouldn't have any other way."

Kensei's smirk grew before he charged her. The two clashed in a shower of sparks as their blades connected. Distantly, Yukiko could hear Mashiro cheering her on before the voice was lost in another clash. She quickly became caught up in the battle against her old captain; memories of their past training sessions returning with each blow.

Each clash of their blades brought a bigger smile to her face until she was laughing in joy. This was what life was supposed to be for her, spending time with her superiors, training, getting stronger, and having fun. After parrying a particularly hard attack from Kensei, Yukiko sheathed her sword and ducked his blade before rushing in and ramming into his stomach; her arms wrapping around his waist in the process.

Somehow, his blade disappeared as well as he wrapped his arms around her in response. He easily pulled her off of him and put her in a hold, cinching it tight. She struggled and managed to slip out before jumping on his back and locking her arms around his neck. In seconds he had her off of him, facing away, with her arms crossed in front of her and being pulled back by the wrist.

She couldn't help the laugh that came out as she panted for air. Even though she knew she lost, the match had been fun and she couldn't hold back the sound of pleasure. To her surprise, she heard more laughter that wasn't hers. Then her arms were released and she turned to see Kensei smirking at her in amusement.

"Feeling relaxed now?" he asked. He was breathing easily, showing he hadn't used much energy during their little spat.

Yukiko grinned fully at him. "Yeah, thanks," she said. She took a deep breath to ease her pounding heart. "Say, Kensei?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to join me for a picnic dinner after training?" she asked. Her hands were beginning to sweat as she asked and she felt like her heart was going to jump right out of her chest.

Kensei looked confused for a moment as he scanned her features until he met her gaze. "Sure." Yukiko's face exploded with heat at his answer and she wanted to hug him in joy, but her fear kept her from moving any closer. "Want me to get it made up while you train?"

She smiled in relief and nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

He nodded and silently headed off. As she moved back to the center of her training space, Soyokaze reminded her once more about what had happened the last time she tried to be alone with him and warned her not to fall into the same trap. She acknowledged her sword's words but calmly pushed it to the back of her mind. If she could complete Kensei's memories, then she knew she'd be able to finish _those_ three. So long as she had the assurance that he was the man she wanted to believe him to be, then there would be nothing they could do to change her. She'd be okay...

* * *

An hour and a half passed rather quickly for Kensei as he made up a filling, yet easily transported, dinner and packed it away into an ice chest. He had a hard time keeping his hollow from messing with the meal in any way as his mind kept wandering back to her request, leaving himself momentarily vulnerable to his hollow. The request had been completely unexpected, but very welcome. Hearing her ask him for a picnic increased his hope that she'd be able to go back to normal. At the very least it was clear she was still trying, and he wanted to encourage that.

When everything was packed up, he brought it all out to the entrance of the warehouse, where she was waiting, nervously. "You all finished?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her.

She nodded and glanced up at him. "Shinji said I was going to wear myself out if I didn't get a break in," she said, licking her lips slightly. "That and I have been at this all day. It might be a good idea to call it a night."

Kensei was pleased to hear she was taking care of herself, seemingly better than when she'd been a part of his squad. He gestured for her to lead the way as he lifted the ice chest back up and followed. The pair traveled in silence across town until they reached a secluded area that sat near Karakura River. The sun was setting over the horizon giving the sky a pink and orange tinge, making the setting a little more romantic.

"This is good," she said, taking a seat on the grass and looking up at him expectantly.

He brought the ice chest closer to her and set it down before pulling out the items inside. Her reaction to the food was amusing as he revealed a dinner of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and what looked like a brownie for dessert.

"You made all of this?" she asked in amasement.

"Yeah," he answered, placing the items on the ground and handing her a plate and utensil. "Go ahead, tell me how it tastes."

After serving himself some food, he watched her take a few bites and beam in joy. She kept eating, her mouth constantly too full to carry on a conversation; which was just fine for him. Right now, he just wanted to savor the closeness, and the look of joy on her face, as he knew there was the chance that at any moment both would end.

When the food was gone, he took his time putting all the dishes back into the ice chest. As he sat back, his work finished, he felt Yukiko lean against him. Looking down, he saw a contented smile on her face while her head gently rubbed against his arm. After a moment, he shifted his arm allowing her to rest against his chest instead, his arm gently wrapping around her shoulders.

"Better?" he asked.

She nodded into his chest. "You're more comfortable than I thought," she murmured, closing her eyes.

Kensei smirked at her answer then contemplated shifting their position even more. It was really uncomfortable for him the way they were after all. So after a few moments of contemplation, and a few shouted words between him and his hollow, he slowly laid back on the ground, pulling Yukiko with him.

"What about this?" he asked. This time he was really worried as he'd felt her tense at his movement.

She didn't answer right away and he could feel her body shaking slightly under his touch. Maybe he'd pushed it too far again. He was about to sit up and pull away when he felt her hand grip tightly onto his tank top. "I like it." Her voice was barely a whisper and he had to wonder how much was true and how much she was forcing out for him.

"If you want me to stop or back off just say so," he growled out. "You don't have to force yourself for my sake."

The hand on his tank top tightened slightly. "This is just as much for me as it is for you," she said firmly. "I can't tell you how much I want this."

Kensei's neck started to heat a little at her answer and he heard his hollow laughing at him for getting so embarrassed by it. Then to his surprise, she pulled herself up just enough to kiss his cheek. He looked up at her and she smiled at him, her cheeks turning a bright red.

Slowly he sat up, keeping his eyes on her as she moved with him and a cold wind rushed passed the pair. Her scent invaded his nostrils and he leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was more of a brushing of the lips as he remembered the previous outcome. They sat there for several moments after it breathing in each other's scent.

He wanted to ask her if she was okay with more or if they should leave it at that, but his words died in his throat as she moved this time, melding their lips more firmly. To add to the growing intensity, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His hands tightened into fists for a moment before wrapping around her as well. Once again he was drowning in her scent and didn't want to be saved.

He began moving against her, pleased when she followed suit. As they moved he slowly tested the edge of her mouth with his tongue until he felt hers meet his. Then he plunged the appendage in deep, taking the moment to explore every inch of it as she moaned audibly into his mouth. Again he was surprised when she didn't pull back or tell him to stop and he was urged to go farther, the hunger of his hollow making his desire more unbearable than before.

The intense liplock led to him moving over top of her, pressing her into the ground as he continued to explore her mouth. His hands took on a life of their own as well, moving over the light shirt she wore and moving it aside enough to brush skin.

When the kiss was broken, he moved on to kissing down her neck. It wasn't enough, it still wasn't enough. He needed more of her; needed to see, to touch, and to taste more of her. His chest tingled as he felt her hand against it, making him growl in desire, his hands pushing her clothing aside even farther. A part of his brain began shouting he needed to stop, that he was taking it too far too fast, but he couldn't stop, he didn't want to stop.

Next thing he knew, he was on his back several feet away after receiving a strong blow to his side. Looking up in confusion, he saw Yukiko scooting away from him, terror written all over her face as she panted. Her cheeks were very red, her lips looked swollen, and she was surrounded by her wind reiatsu. Had she actually attacked him? Wanting to understand and worried about what she was going to do next, he made to stand up.

"Stay away from me!" she screamed.

Kensei froze at her exclamation knowing any sort of movement could make it worse. "Yukiko..."

She scrambled to her feet, keeping her arms locked in front of her protectively. "No! No...just...just..." Without finishing her sentence she flash stepped away, disappearing in an instant.

"Shit," he swore, slowly getting to his feet. How had things turned so wrong again? He'd told her to let him know if she needed him to stop, so why hadn't she before she exploded like that?

" _Too easy."_

Kensei frowned as his hollow laughed from inside. Then to his horror, he replayed the scene for him. Suddenly he felt sick to his stomach. She had told him to stop, begged him not to keep going, but he hadn't heard her. She'd needed him to be strong and remain in control, and he'd failed her again.

"Yukiko...I'm sorry."

* * *

Shippoman: Danggit Kensei! Not again. They were so close and yet he once again lost himself. Can you really blame him too much though? He's finally getting a chance to have the relationship he's fantasized about for over 100 years...well almost the same. Question is though, what will Yukiko do now? Stay tuned to find out, and please remember to R&R. :D


	22. Chapter 22

Shippoman: So, I want to thank all of you who're still reading this for sticking with me. It means a lot to see that when I update I still get quite a few people reading the new chapter. I also wanted to let you all know that I have a new song for inspiration when I'm writing anything for Yukiko and Kensei. It's Thousand Years by Christina Perry. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 22:

It was amazing how much business came through his door in only an hour after opening. Even though Jun had been running his bar for years now, it never ceased to surprise him how quickly his establishment became packed, or what time of people would come in. Like the young woman who just entered alone.

She was very young looking, except for her eyes. The pain held within them made her look much older; as if she held a weight much too heavy for someone like her. Her red hair draped over the top of her shoulders barely allowing her face to be visible. But, even so, he could tell she'd been crying.

Making quick work of the drinks that were ordered, he made himself totally available by the time she reached the bar and sat down. "What can I get for you, miss?" he asked easily.

She was silent for a time before whispering her answer. "S-sake, please."

Jun could tell this woman wasn't much of a drinker, but he did still grab a bottle of sake and poured her a cup. She silently accepted the cup, then grabbed his arm as he moved to put the bottle away.

"Will you...leave it? Please?"

Her voice was almost desperate sounding, so Jun nodded and released the bottle. She smiled gratefully and began sipping from the sake cup. "If you don't mind my asking, what made you want to come here?" he asked, curiously.

She shook her head, before answering. "I just want to forget. Even if only for tonight or a few hours."

Jun felt something in his guy twist at her answer. "And what do you want to forget?" he asked as she poured herself a second cup.

"Everything!" she exclaimed, tears starting to flow. "Everyone. I just don't want any memories...especially not of _him_."

Jun caught the stress she'd put on the last word and had to wonder who this guy was that hurt this young woman so much, and what he'd done to her. However, instead of asking that, he felt there was something else he should do.

"Well, do have any family you can call for help?" he asked gently. She shook her head before downing a third cup. "What about friends?"

At this, she gained a smile and giggled a little. Was she already drunk? "Yes, I have friends," she answered, now sounding a lot more cheerful. "They're so much fun."

Jun nodded in understanding before noticing another patron enter the bar and immediately take a seat. "I'll be right back," he said, and she just smiled and poured herself another cup. Then he quickly made his way to the other side of the bar where his silver haired regular was sitting. "And what can I do for you, Kensei?"

"Just get me the usual, Jun," he grunted.

Looking him over, it was clear something had gone very wrong that day and he had to wonder if it had to do with his lady friend. "So, what happened today?" he asked.

"None of your damn business," Kensei snapped. "Just get me my damn drink and shut up."

Thinking the man needed a few minutes and a few drinks to cool off, Jun obligingly made up the man's usual and set it in front of him before returning to the young woman. She was still smiling and he could see the bottle was empty.

"Oh, drink guy. Can I have another bottle?"

Jun was surprised by how drastically different she was acting. She clearly was not a regular drinker, though she wasn't slurring just yet. "How about I grab you some water?" he suggested.

She pouted a little, but nodded reluctantly. "Can I have more after?"

Jun smiled despite himself and nodded. "Sure. By the way, my name is Jun. What's yours?"

The pout faded into another drunken grin. "Ume! Call me Ume."

Cute name. He'd have to remember her if she was going to be coming in like this. He left a glass of water in front of her, before serving up a few other drinks elsewhere and then stopping long enough to check on Kensei.

He'd finished his first and barely seemed to register when the second was placed in front of him. Whatever was bothering him must have been really bad. Then the silver haired man began nursing the second drink. Jun couldn't tell if he was trying to get drunk or just think.

He was about to ask what was wrong when he noticed some random person was chatting up Ume. Unlike her, he was clearly sober. Getting a bad feeling over it, he moved back toward them as the new man called out to him.

"Hey, barkeep! How about getting a drink for me and the lady?"

Jun was even more worried as he reached the pair and shook his head. Ume was giggling and enjoying the man's company bringing a frown to his face. "She's had more than enough," he said seriously.

The man glared at him while she pouted. "See, but you promised I could if I finished the water," she said, holding up an empty glass. "See, all gone."

"Hey, it ain't your job to regulate anyone," the new guy said scathingly. "It's just to pour."

The stranger regained his smile as Jun caved and went for another bottle of sake. He couldn't in good conscience give her more, but he also couldn't become a liar. When he brought her the sake, the stranger ordered a beer before striking up a conversation with the depressed female.

Jun took his time selecting an appropriate glass and pouring the liquid as he listened to the two. The stranger had graciously poured the sake into the cup for her allowing her to get another downed. He was already asking he poor girl to go home with him.

"We could have lots of fun at my place," he said enticingly.

"Oh really? I don't know, you'd have to convince my friends," she said with a grin. "They get pretty protective."

Jun finished pouring the glass and walked it over. "Well, I doubt that'll be a problem," he said confidently. "Who's your friends?"

"Well, there's Rose, Love, Hachi, and Shinji," she began thoughtfully. "They're protective about almost everything."

"Only guys?" he asked in disappointment. "What, don't have any girlfriends?"

"Sure I do. There's Lisa, and Hiyori, and Mashiro," she listed off.

Something sounded very familiar about those names. Jun couldn't place his finger on it, nor could he stall any longer. He slowly placed the drink in front of the stranger and moved on as he was called for more drinks, all the while keeping in earshot of their conversation.

"Well, they'd be more than welcome to join us for some fun," he told her.

"I don't know," Ume said with a shrug. "Lisa might prefer her magazines and Hiyori doesn't really like fun. Though Mashiro might be okay. She loves fun things."

"Then you can invite her along," the man said easily. He'd only taken a few sips of his drink and was continually pouring hers for her.

"Yeah maybe," she agreed. Jun could see the triumphant smirk on the man's face before she spoke again. "But the one you'd have to convince the most would be Kensei. If he said yes then I would too."

Jun almost dropped the glass in his hand as she spoke. That's it. Those names were the same ones Kensei listed off to him. Meaning this girl was…

Quick as a flash, Jun finished getting drinks to his other patrons and approached the silver haired regular. He was nursing his third drink but hadn't gotten very far. Good.

"Kensei, you've had enough for tonight," he said, wishing he had some other way to get the man's attention.

"This is barely my third, Jun. I barely even started." Kensei looked even worse than before, he didn't even look angry anymore. Just depressed.

"Kensei, you're upset because of something that happened with that friend if yours, right?" Jun asked, eliciting a dangerous glare from the man. "A woman by the name Ume?"

Kensei growled as his grip on the drink tightened. Then, before he said anything, his expression changed to one of confusion. "How do you know that name?"

"Because she told me herself," Jun answered, pleased to see he'd successfully caught the man's attention.

"When?" Kensei demanded, getting to his feet and releasing his drink.

"About 10 minutes ago. She's actually sitting over there with some stranger trying to convince her to go home with him"

A vein appeared on Kensei's forehead as he left his seat and marched in the direction indicated. Jun took the shorter route, landing him back within earshot in time to see the fireworks. He was looking forward to this.

"So, if I get this Kensei guy's permission, you'll come home with me?" the stranger asked excitedly.

"Yep, because I trust him," Ume agreed. The sake bottle was emptied into the red cup and she downed the last of it.

"Well, in that case, Kensei said it was okay with him," he replied easily.

"Really?"

The man was about to respond when Jun saw Kensei reach the pair and give him the death glare he'd been waiting for.

"No, you didn't," he growled, placing a protective hand on her shoulder.

The man nearly choked on the words he was about to say while Ume turned and cheerfully wrapped her arms around the Vizard's neck. "Kensei! What brings you here?" she exclaimed.

"This is my favorite bar, idiot. I always come here," he grunted.

"Well, Kensei, this is Yousuke," she said, gesturing to the stranger. "He wants me to go have fun at his place. That okay?"

Jun internally snickered at the look Yousuke gave the other. A sort of "help me out man" kind of look.

Kensei's expression didn't change. "No. You're going home," he said, lifting her up into a bridal carry and turning toward the door.

"What? But I want to have fun!" she shouted at him.

"Hey, I don't know who are, but you can't just walk off with a drunken chick when she clearly doesn't want to go with you."

Kensei turned to face the other who was holding his shoulder. Then he punched him so hard he went flying into the far wall. "Never come near Yukiko again or I'll kill you," he said dangerously. "A scumbag like you is not going to get the chance to hurt her again. Especially when she's so drunk she can't defend herself."

With that, he left with Yukiko yelling at him and kicking her legs, but doing no actual damage. Jun chuckled over the situation and went to tally up the bill for Yousuke, coming around the bar to hand it to him.

"What the hell, barkeep? That asshole just assaulted me," Yousuke growled, rubbing his jaw and shaking out his foggy head. "Aren't ya gonna call the cops or something's?"

"You're lucky I'm not calling the cops," Jun answered. "You were planning on having sex with that oblivious woman."

"Yeah, sex, between two consenting adults," Yousuke argued.

"No one consenting, the other so drunk she though you were just having fun," Jun answered darkly. "Here's your bill, sir. Pay up and get out. Your kind is not welcome in my bar."

After that, he moved back to the serving bar amidst smattering of applause from the other patrons. Apparently it'd been quite the spectacle, one the others fully approved of. As he waited for the predator to get off the floor and pay, he glanced at the exit and silently sent the pair a wish that whatever had happened between them could be resolved.

* * *

It was a long trek back to Yukiko's apartment as Kensei had to move slower than he would normally. While far from being drunk, he was still buzzed and knew going at full speed could lead to either himself or the woman in his arms getting hurt. At first, the trip was full of her yelling at him, calling him names, and kicking her legs; though never hard enough to actually make him release her. That eventually died out, however, to be replaced by uncomfortable silence.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever, but it was still preferable to the childish tantrum she'd been throwing. Believing she'd fallen asleep, he glanced down at her and saw that she was staring at nothing, her eyes taking on a confused and uncertain quality to them. Unsure if he should ask her what was wrong or wait, he found his mind being made up for him.

"Kensei, why did you do that?" she asked softly.

"Do what?" he asked, keeping his attention on the path he was taking.

"Show up at that bar to pull me away. I even had a shot at having some fun. But you wouldn't let me." She was looking up at him from his arm, her eyes looking confused and a little glazed.

"I told you before, idiot. That's my favorite bar. Me being there was a coincidence."

She frowned and looked away, a sad smile taking it's place moments later. "...then why help me at all? I thought you'd be mad after I yelled at you. That you wouldn't want to deal with me anymore. "

Kensei paused to look down at her and released an amused snort. "It'd take more than that for me to hate you, idiot," he said seriously. "I waited over 100 years to find you again, I'm not about to just abandon it because the road's a bit bumpy." He watched her cheeks darken at his words and felt a little pleased with himself. "Besides, there's no way in hell I'd let some random bastard hurt you."

Yukiko fell silent after this, her face remaining the dark red color. Kensei watched her for only a moment longer before continuing on to her apartment. The pair traveled in silence, which made him believe she'd fallen asleep several times. However, every time he checked, she was staring off into the night without looking at him.

Eventually, they reached the apartment and he leapt up to her door. "Do you have your keys?" he asked.

She nodded silently and he slowly set her down on her feet. Then she carefully removed a key from her pocket and slipped it into the lock, opening the door. Beyond it, was darkness as the lights were out, but even so Kensei knew it was full of plants. He could smell the plum blossoms from the doorway.

"Get some sleep," he said, turning to leave.

Before he could move away, he felt her grip his wrist and he glanced back at her. Her eyes were shining and a desperate, pleading look shone through. "Kensei," she murmured, her voice drawing his eyes to her parted lips. "Please, before you go...will you kiss me again?"

"I-I don't think that's a good idea right now," he said, frowning. Inside he was all set to do as she asked, and he could feel his hollow egging him on. But his increasingly foggy mind still remembered how he'd lost himself earlier that day, and how she reacted. He couldn't do that to her again, especially since she wasn't thinking clearly.

As he began pulling his hand away, she shook her head and brought his hand up to her cheek. "Please, just one more?" she asked.

His head was spinning with a combination of the plum blossom scent and the booze from before, making it difficult to focus on what he should do. He couldn't help the overwhelming desire to follow through as his hand gently stroked her cheek. The skin soft and smooth under his touch. And, why did it feel wet? Tears. A few had leaked out of her eyes and slid down her cheeks, spilling onto his hand.

"Please," she repeated. Her eyes closed as she clutched his hand to her cheek.

"Y-Yukiko..."

Kensei pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her, trapping her to his chest. He hated this, hated seeing her in tears, hated how broken she was, hated how desperate she seemed to have him complete this one task. After a moment of holding her, he lifted her chin so she was facing him and leaned over, his nose brushing against hers.

"Alright, just one," he murmured softly. "No more crying."

Her mouth slowly pulled into a smile before his lips melded with hers. It was short and lacked the almost mind numbing desire he'd displayed before. But even so, it held so much feeling behind it. When he broke the kiss, he felt he still had enough of himself to pull away. He needed to. But then, her arms wrapped around his neck, keeping his face close to hers.

"Kensei," she breathed, her breasts pressing against his chest in a tantalizing fashion. "I want you. Please, stay. Tonight may be our only chance...to do whatever we want."

Kensei's hold on her tightened at her words. The thought had crossed his mind, that because she was drunk her memories wouldn't hinder her. But, his inner mind tried to get him to remember why he couldn't but was shut down. His hollow squashing the voice of reason, telling him she was right. He'd never get another shot like this.

Before he could properly decide, Yukiko lifted herself just enough where she was able to kiss him again. The need behind her kiss caused him to moan in pleasure...then return it with fervor. As he kissed her, they moved inside, closing the door behind them.

They stepped into the hallway and he pressed her against the wall. His lips moved across hers in a slow manner, taking his time enjoying each taste. He gently ran his tongue over her lips, asking for entrance. A moan escaped her lips as she opened her mouth, allowing him the chance to explore the space. Another moan reached his ears as her hands ran through his hair, giving his scalp a heavenly massage.

Eventually, he broke the kiss and began kissing down her neck and over her shoulders. However, their height difference was making this difficult. So he lifted her up against the wall so she was straddling his waist. Her core muscles allowed her to lift herself up so her shoulders were even with his head. While his hands ran over her legs, his mouth continued exploring her neck, dipping into her collar and going until his progress was hindered by her shirt.

His roaming hands reminded him that she was wearing a skirt as they brushed against her bare skin. They moved along each thigh, rubbing sensuously up and down, occasionally brushing against her underwear. At the same time, his lips once again found hers, and this time the feverish need was back. Their mouths moved against each other, his tongue goading hers into a short battle. Her breathy moans being the only sound that reached his ears while her scent overpowered his senses.

He wanted her, and she'd said she wanted him too. Did that mean she was willing to let him take that step tonight? It was getting harder and harder to think of anything else as every time she shifted her weight, she brushed against his member, chipping away at his dwindling restraint.

Eventually, he broke the kiss and lay his forehead against hers, breathing hard. "I should go," he said after getting his breath back. "Before this thing escalates any further." He allowed his hands to run over her legs a couple more times before starting to lower her back down.

However, her hold on his neck tightened and he met her gaze. "Kensei, please don't stop," she whispered, brushing her lips against his again.

His stroking hands stopped at this, clenching into fists underneath her. "No, I..." He swallowed hard, finding it difficult to think of the right words; his voice of reason being completely silenced by his hollow. There was a reason he needed to stop, needed to leave, but for the life of him he couldn't think of it. "Are you sure you want me to keep going?" he asked.

Their eyes locked onto each other as her answer came. "Yes, just promise you'll be gentle."

Kensei felt any desire to leave vanish the moment she spoke. Immediately he went back to kissing her, but this time he moved away from the wall and walked down the hallway. Somehow he was able to navigate through the apartment without knocking over any plants, and over to her bed. Here he gently lowered her down onto the bedding. Then he pulled back only long enough to pull his shirt off, tossing it to the ground.

As he moved back over her, he felt her small hands brush against the bare skin of his chest and trace over his tattoo. The motion sent a chill through his body, making him growl in pleasure. He returned to kissing her, once again battling with her tongue. After a few moments, he moved away from her mouth to kiss down her neck and down the collar of her shirt. Meanwhile, his free hands pushed her shirt up, allowing his fingers to trail across her silky smooth skin. It was perfect, just like he remembered it.

Next he moved himself lower, his hands slipping over her legs and under her skirt while he kissed and nibbled across her belly. She giggled lightly, and he was sure his touch had tickled. He moved one of his hands up to lift her shirt even more, his mouth following along until he was able to see the bottom of her breasts, where he slipped his tongue between them. She arched her back into him just as he thrust his hips forward, meeting hers. The effect it had, made him move his free hand to tease the top of her skirt.

Then, as he pulled back just enough to see her panting beneath him, he remembered what she'd said when he grabbed her from the bar. "...I trust him..."

Immediately his mind returned to his control and he moved off of her to the edge of the bed where he bent over his knees trying to calm himself down. She was completely drunk, and with her track record probably wouldn't remember it the next morning, and he'd almost taken advantage of that. Standing up from the bed, he pulled his shirt back on and turned toward the door. He needed to leave, now.

Before he could take two steps, she started talking again. "Is something wrong?" she asked, sitting up on the bed and looking over at him. Her shirt had mostly fallen back down, and her lips were clearly swollen. "You don't make any sense. When I ask you to stop, beg you to not to continue, you do it anyway. But when I tell you I want more, and to not stop, you do. Why? Did you lose interest in me?"

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. He tried to make himself feel a little angry as doing so helped keep his lebito in check. "Me not stopping only happened the once, and that was because my hollow was being an asshole."

"What about the other time?" she asked. Her voice was starting to sound s drunk as he knew she was. "You didn't stop then either. Is it because you only like taking what I don't want to give?"

"What other time?" he asked in confusion. Was she referring to the thing in the kitchen? He'd stopped when she pulled back and told him to stop though.

Instead of answering his question, her glazed eyes stared at the floor, taking on a depressed appearance. "I can still remember it," she said slowly. "Not being able to move, begging you to stop while you laughed. You saying I wanted it as much as you, then the pain. That invasive pain that I can still feel. It won't go away, no matter how much I want it to. The pounding, painful rhythm that shook my whole body."

Kensei felt his breath still at her words, his blood begin to boil with anger, while his ears were ringing. She wasn't saying what he thought, she couldn't be. Even Aizen wasn't that depraved. He knelt on the floor next to the bed and could see the tears falling from her reddening eyes.

"I-I wasn't ready, but you took it anyway," she hiccuped. "But now that I want it you don't. Why? Why won't you take it when I'm offering it?"

Kensei's anger slipped away as he saw her crying before him and he reached up, directing her back onto the bed, removing her shoes as he went. "Because you're not conscious," he answered slowly. "I would never hurt you that way."

"But, but you..." she whimpered. He cut her off by placing a finger on her lips. Then he adjusted her clothes so she wasn't being tempting for him again.

"That was just a nightmare," he said firmly. "It wasn't real. I would never do that to you. You're too important to me."

Her sadness fell just a little as a smile slid onto her face. "R-really?"

He nodded, kissed her hand, and pulled the covers over her. "Now, get some sleep."

With that, he got to his feet once more. But again his progress was stopped by a small hand, though this time the grip was weak. "Please, don't leave me alone," she asked, her eyes drooping in tiredness. "I don't...want to be alone."

Kensei sighed, knowing it was a bad idea, but not being able to leave her in such a state. He sat on the floor and kept her hand in his. "Alright, I'll stay here until you fall asleep," he promised.

She silently smiled before slipping off. He knew she was out as her hand went completely slack in his grasp. The silence that followed was painful for him. His adrenaline from the makeout session was falling rapidly making him tired as well, but there was one thing that kept cycling through his mind, keeping him awake. The illusion him had taken her first time. He'd hurt her to such a degree, and when she tried to find something about him that would overwrite it, he kept pressing her and going farther than he should. All this time, he'd only been enhancing the view that he'd really do it. That he'd take that special part of her because he wanted it. It made him sick and disgusted, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it now.

As he finally started drifting off, he kissed her hand again, promising her he'd find someway to help her, even if it meant never letting their relationship progress.

* * *

Shippoman: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I went through the scene between Yukiko and Kensei a dozen or more times trying to get it right. I wanted to make it show that Yukiko really did want more in her relationship, but the booze was the only way for her to let loose. And I didn't want Kensei to come off a sex crazed weirdo, but did lose himself a couple times thanks to his hollow and the booze. I hope all of it came across alright and that I didn't destroy the characters. Anyway...Kensei's finally learned what pushed her over the edge and is willing to take quite the drastic measure to help. What's going to happen in the morning? How will Yukiko take the news of the night before? Stay tuned to find out.


	23. Chapter 23

Shippoman: I'm really sorry about the flow of this chapter ahead of time. I really struggled with writing this one as I didn't want to drag out her training as the training itself wasn't too important. I also couldn't think of any specific scenes Kensei and Yukiko could have that I haven't shown already. At any rate, a big thanks to all of you who are still reading this and especially those that review. Hearing your opinions and excitement make me want to press forward through my moments of writers block to get it finished. Please enjoy and on with the story.

* * *

Chapter 23:

Pain was all that Yukiko was aware of as she shifted on her bed. The light streaming in from the window stabbed at her eyes when she tried to open them, making her already pounding head throb even more. Her lips felt dry and tender as she moved her tongue across them, and her muscles ached as if she just finished an intensive training session with Youruichi.

"Ugh...what happened?" she thought, moving her left hand over her head. She tried to keep herself in check as her mind tried to go into a frenzy. Had she just been killed again and was starting a new day? Had everything she just experienced been one of Aizen's illusions? Why couldn't she remember anything this time?

" _You got drunk, remember."_

Yukiko internally groaned as her sword chuckled in her head. That's right, she had gone to a bar in order to forget, even for a little while. Which meant all the pain was a result of dying...she was hung over. "Right. Shit, can't remember anything again," her internal self groaned. "Where am I now?"

" _You made it back to your apartment,"_ Soyokaze murmured, flitting up to her. _"I warned you not to."_

"Yeah I know," Yukiko sighed, rubbing her aching head. "How'd I get home anyway?"

" _The answer's on your right arm if you'll look,_ " Soyokaze chuckled.

Yukiko felt a little annoyed at how vague her sword was being and tried to move her right arm...but couldn't. She froze when she realized something was keeping it still, and at her movement, tightened over it. Swallowing down her fear, she slowly opened her eyes and glanced down at the trapped arm. To her surprise, a familiar mane of silver met her eyes and she realized that Kensei was asleep on the floor, with his head on her bed and his hand on her arm.

"Kensei?!" Her voice barely got the sound of his name out, her throat and mouth feeling out of sorts. What was he doing there? Even if he had taken her home, why had he stayed? Had he...done something?

Trying to hold back the panic that was threatening to explode, she looked herself over, finding her clothes ruffled...and nothing else. She expected her clothes to be ruffled, since she slept in them, but she also expected an invasive pain in her lower region. However, all she had was the memory of such a pain. Settling down some, she glanced over at her ex-captain once more.

He seemed to be in a deep sleep, his eyes closed, lightly snoring. Now that she thought about it, she'd never seen him asleep before. His usual scowl was gone, and he looked peaceful...almost adorable. She smiled to herself and allowed her free hand to reach over and, after a moments hesitation, ran her fingers through his hair.

It was softer than she expected, and she wondered if it was because of the new style or if it was always this way. Her wandering fingers moved a little too far, however, and brushed against his scalp, making him jerk upwards. His sudden movement startled her and she pulled her hand away, hoping he hadn't noticed.

It took a few moments for Kensei to look around her room, realize where he was and look her way. "M-morning," she stuttered. Her head throbbed a little as she spoke, and she fought the urge to vomit.

He grunted in acknowledgment before releasing her arm and getting to his feet. "Feeling better?" he asked.

"Uh, I have a hang over," she muttered. "But I'm fine."

She noticed he was looking anywhere but at her and once again she wondered what had happened the night before. "Drink some water...and sleep," he told her. "Don't leave here 'til you're better." With that, he left through her window without a backwards glance.

"He must still be upset about me throwing him yesterday," she mumbled, turning over so her face was buried in her pillow. "I really hurt him that time."

" _I can assure you, that wasn't why he couldn't look at you,"_ Soyokaze murmured. _"You still can't remember last night, so of course you don't know."_

"Wait, you know what happened?" Yukiko asked in confusion.

" _Yes. After handling your memories for so long, I was able to move those from last night into it's own section,"_ Soyokaze answered. _"Would you like to see it?"_

Yukiko thought over the question, her feeling shifting from one answer to the other. She'd been drunk, so she probably made some decisions she wouldn't normally. Much like the last time when she'd laughed at Tousen's hair. However, she felt the only way to know for sure what was wrong with Kensei, and why he was there, was to see it for herself. But would it really help, or would it only make things worse?

After a long time, thinking it over, she finally went into her inner world and looked the Nightingale in the eye. "Yes, please show me."

* * *

"Where've you been?"

The question annoyed Kensei as he stepped into the Vizard warehouse. Despite how late it was in the morning, he'd hoped he'd be able to avoid any awkward questions. Looked like he was wrong. "That's none of your business, Shinji," he growled, attempting to head up to his room. It wasn't that he was tired, no he'd slept quite well with Yukiko, so much as he wanted to go somewhere the annoying blonde couldn't follow.

"You were out all night," Shinji pointed out. "Was it because of your outing with Yukiko? Or did something go wrong?"

"Yeah something went wrong," Kensei thought bitterly. He remembered the conversation he'd had with Yukiko the night before regarding what he'd done. Now, he'd probably destroyed any chance of her being able to trust him again.

" _You can't say you didn't enjoy that."_

"Shut up." His hollow was usually quiet, simply feeding him emotions rather than words.

" _Her smooth skin and all those moans. You couldn't get enough of it."_

"I said, shut up."

" _You about lost it when she asked you to be gentle. How tight do you think she was?"_

Kensei's inner self slugged his hollow. Everything he was saying was true, but that only made his mood worse. This was partially his fault, as he'd kept Kensei from hearing her pleas before. Despite that, he couldn't put all the blame on his hollow.

"So?" Shinji asked, not letting walk away just yet.

"It's none of your business," Kensei repeated. He moved past Shinji, shrugging off the other's hold as did so. This time, no amount of prodding or coaxing would get him to admit what happened. No, this time it was staying with him.

Of course the blonde didn't get the hint and kept following him, so he went down to the training area to chill and watch Ichigo work. Hoping something down there would get the blonde's attention. It didn't work out quite like he was hoping, but he was able to sit there for a couple hours mostly undisturbed. Granted he did have to deal with the occasional fit from Mashiro, but otherwise he was able to relax surprisingly well.

Then, just as he was contemplating getting in a nap, he stood up only to have a weight plow into him. He blinked in surprise and glanced down as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. What shocked him more, was that instead of green hair, like he was expecting, he saw red.

"Thank you, Kensei."

"Y-Yukiko?" He slowly pushed her away from him, and she lifted her head to meet his eye, grinning widely at him. "W-What for?"

"Last night. Thanks to that, I was able to get through more of my memories with you," she explained. "I should be able to finish that soon. Then maybe I can fully solidify those three in my mind as well."

"So...it really helped?" he asked skeptically.

"Yep." She smiled warmly up at him, just like she used to. "So don't worry." He watched her turn away and approach the others who'd clearly been watching them. "Shinji, will you help me with my training today?"

He grinned at her and she readily returned it. "Sure thing. Don't expect me to go easy on you though."

Yukiko giggled lightly. "I wouldn't expect anything different."

Kensei remained frozen where he stood for a long time, watching Yukiko talk with the other Vizard before starting her training. He still couldn't believe what she'd told him. Had his actions the night before really helped her? Considering what she'd said to him, he was certain he'd destroyed any chance she had at succeeding. "Well, maybe stopping myself, when I knew she wasn't conscious, proved I wouldn't do that," he guessed. This thought brought a pleased smirk to his face as he found a place to sit and watch the training. Maybe things were going better than he thought.

* * *

Days passed, then weeks. During this time, Yukiko grew closer to the Vizard. In doing so, she appeared more and more as the girl they once knew while gaining more control over her bankai. Training and meditating weren't the only things that took up the ex-soul reaper's time, however, as she made sure to occasionally spar with Mashiro and spend some alone time with Kensei. Their relationship took a turn in a good direction after their drunken night, as she was able to be physically intimate without breaking down. Though there were a couple close calls when things got a little too spicy. But Kensei learned from his past mistakes and made sure to keep his hollow in check as well as himself during these moments.

The only real downside, however, was that while Yukiko was progressing rather well, Ichigo seemed to hit a wall. "Looks like we really do need more time," Shinji thought to himself as he watched Ichigo's mask shatter once again. "A little over a month and he's only been able to increase his time by 10 seconds. At the rate we're going, he won't be ready for the fight against Aizen."

Shinji's thoughts were interrupted as Kensei appeared and started banging on his pan. "Oy! Food's ready. Last one over has to do dishes!" he called out. Instantly, Yukiko had stopped her training and was at his side, smiling up at him.

The sight made Shinji smile to himself. She'd come a long way from the shivering mass he'd seen that first day she stepped into the school. He was glad to see the two of them growing closer. "It's about damn time," he muttered to himself. Even though he'd waited a few minutes after the call, he made sure he wasn't the last one to the food. No, that right fell to Ichigo, like it did every time.

The blonde ex-captain just started to dig in when their headquarters was hit by a massive amount of reiatsu. Everyone froze for a moment, the Vizard sharing knowing glances and Yukiko clenching her hands into fists. Ichigo, however, turned and dashed toward the exit. Unsurprisingly, Kensei and Love caught his arms to hold him in place.

Shinji watched them struggle to keep the teen in place as he shouted for them to let him go. He was saying things like he had to go, his friends and family were counting on him, or something like that. Shinji wasn't paying too much attention. Rather, he glanced over at Yukiko who was determinedly ignoring the energy and shouts, her knuckles turning white from the effort of holding herself back.

After a few minutes, he sighed, got up and grabbed the back of Kensei's shirt. "Let him go," he muttered.

Somehow just his words were enough as both men released the teen and he dashed off. As soon as he disappeared, Kensei rounded on him. "What the hell, Shinji?! What was the point in giving him this training if the first time an enemy shows up he goes off and gets himself killed?"

"He's not going alone," Shinji assured him. "He just needs to see that he isn't quite ready to take them on yet. Nothing we say will convince him of this." He could see that Kensei grudgingly agreed with him and let him go. "Just make sure Yukiko stays put. She's about ready to rush off herself."

Kensei blinked in surprise at this and glanced over at his sort of girlfriend. Shinji knew he could trust his old friend to keep her safe and out of the spotlight, and so he stepped outside. Now he just had to keep the hot headed teen from getting himself killed. A much harder feat in his mind.

* * *

Shippoman: The second assualt by the Arrancar is underway, you know what that means. Next chapter, Yukiko must make a tough decision as preparations for the war come to a head. What will she decide and what will happen with the soul society. Stay tuned and please remember to R&R. :D


	24. Chapter 24

Shippoman: Well, we're coming to the end of the story, so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have stuck with me for this long. Your thoughts and comments have helped me want to finish. Thank you all. On with the story!

* * *

Chapter 24:

The atmosphere was very tense as Shinji stepped out, and no one wanted to be the one to break it. Even Mashiro wasn't causing her usual ruckus and instead sat off to the side staring at nothing. Yukiko glanced around at all the tense expressions on everyone's face, trying her hardest to suppress the fear in herself. This was a near impossible feat, as the fluctuating energies from the fighting pressed in on her.

She shook herself and pulled up her sword, returning to her training. There was no telling how much longer she had before the main attack and she wanted to make sure she was ready. This meant trying to push all thoughts of the current battle to the back of her mind and continue to improve herself. However, after only a few minutes, she paused again. She'd felt Ichigo's energy drop while Shinji and Kisuke joined the battle. She ended up waiting until the enemy disappeared before she sighed and sat on the ground in exhaustion.

"You alright?" Kensei asked, noticing her movements.

"Yes. I'm just worried," she muttered. "They came so suddenly and left randomly. Why? The battle was just reaching the climax, yet they fled. I just feel like the battle was pointless."

"Just because the Arrancar fled like cowards doesn't mean the battle was meaningless," Kensei pointed out.

"No, I don't think they fled," she said. She noticed his look of confusion as he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter the obvious question Shinji returned, carrying a battered Ichigo and followed by Rukia. "Woah, is Ichigo okay?"

"As expected, he got his butt handed to him, but he should be alright," Shinji answered, setting the teen on the ground. "See what you can do to fix him up, alright, Hachi."

"Very well." The large, pink haired man made his way over to the prone teen and sat down before constructing a barrier around him.

Meanwhile, Rukia was glancing around at everyone present in utter confusion before her eyes settled on Yukiko. "Ume, who are these people?" she asked slowly. "Can we really trust them?"

Yukiko smiled at this and nodded. "I understand your worry, but it's fine," she said easily. "They'll take care of Ichigo. As for who they are, I don't think I can really say at this time. Suffice it to say they have my full trust."

Rukia seemed surprised by this as she glanced around once more. "So then, these are the people you mentioned in your reports?" she asked curiously. "The ones you were making progress with?"

Yukiko found it amusing how surprised the young soul reaper seemed and couldn't help but wonder how the girl's older brother would react to seeing them. She started chuckling at the thought of seeing his eyes widen in surprise before being replaced by a frown and maybe that adorable tick that would appear on his forehead.

"What's so funny?" Rukia asked dubiously.

"Nothing. Just relax and wait until Hachi's done. Or you could join me for some training if you'd rather," Yukiko offered, gesturing toward the training ground.

Rukia looked over at Ichigo, then to the other Vizard who were all but ignoring her presence. Eventually she sighed and turned back to the ex-soul reaper. "Alright, let's spar for a bit," she agreed.

Yukiko smiled at this. "Don't worry, I promise I'll go easy on you." Rukia frowned at this and Yukiko just laughed before their sparring match began. It'd been a long time since she fought someone she felt had no way of winning against her.

* * *

When Hachigen finished his healing of Ichigo, the Vizard sent him off with Rukia, requesting she take care of him away from them. Yukiko also said her goodbyes, requesting that Rukia keep her meeting of the group a secret. The soul reaper reluctantly agreed and took off with the teen in tow. Once they were gone, Yukiko also left for her apartment, getting in a session of meditation and then sleeping.

Luckily, she was able to go through all the Vizard, Urahara, Youruichi and Tessai; although she did have to stop during the final memories for Kensei and Shinji. Then she made it through a few of the memories for the traitorous three before Soyokaze stopped it herself, making her go to bed.

She didn't sleep very well as thoughts of the fight Ichigo lost and the three that caused it permeated her mind. She still had not been able to work out who they were to her as of yet, but she felt she was getting closer. She just needed a little more time; a luxury she was quickly running out of.

When the next morning came, she set out, heading for Orihime's apartment in order to put in her report. She just hoped it'd be enough this time to convince the head captain she was alright. This thought went out the window the moment she reached the window she was about to climb through. Standing inside the room, she could clearly make out all the soul reapers that were there to defend against Aizen, and Ichigo. They were addressing the TV screen in the room, clearly conversing with one of the captains from Soul Society.

"I'm telling you, Orihime's alive!" Ichigo declared hotly. "Look at my hand. Yesterday it was severely damaged. But this morning, I woke up and it was completely healed!"

"Why would they think Orihime's dead?" Yukiko wondered to herself. She decided to sit and listen rather than make herself known.

"That is unfortunate." Yukiko blinked in confusion as she looked at the anger on the teen's face. What was going on? What did she miss now? "This means that Inoue Orihime went with the Arrancar of her own free will. She has betrayed you and the Soul Society."

"What?" Yukiko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Orihime was taken by the Arrancar? She betrayed her friends to join with Aizen? It didn't make sense and she could feel even her sword didn't believe it. "No, that was the point of the fight."

 _"What are you talking about, Yukiko?"_ Soyokaze asked.

"That fight, it happened for two reasons. The first was to distract the soul reapers and force Orihime to travel back," Yukiko explained. "The second was to force Orihime to willing join them. If she said no they would have ended everyone's life. That was the threat they gave her. They could have easily taken her by force, but by having her willing go with them, it looks like she's betrayed everyone. He's trying to either cause the Gotei to abandon her, or to draw as many people to Hueco Mundo as he can to save her. That'll split the forces, or at least get Ichigo out of the way."

 _"I see, that is a rather ingenious plan,"_ Soyokaze acknowledged.

"Yes, and it seems to be working."

"All advance guard members are to return to the Soul Society for final preparations," the head captain declared. "As well as the ex-soul reaper Yukiko. Where is she?"

"Sir, will Yukiko be joining in the battle?" Renji spoke up suddenly. After watching her spar with Urahara and Youruichi, he realized she'd be a very powerful ally.

"She will not!"

"But, Head Captain..." Rukia started.

"That is enough. We cannot risk such a powerful force becoming a threat in the middle of this war. She will be placed in the Maggot's Nest until further notice."

Yukiko didn't stick around to hear the rest. Her head was spinning with the information she'd just gathered as she took off as fast as she could away from the apartment, not even caring where she was going. At this point it wouldn't matter where she went, they'd send someone to take her back. It was over.

 _"You did agree to this,"_ Soyokaze reminded her. _"You need to go back and face what was discussed."_

"No. If I go back now they'll take you away from me," Yukiko argued. "Without you holding back the memories I haven't gone through, I'll end up regressing to that blubbering mass. I'll have to start over from scratch. I never want to be that way again."

 _"But, Yukiko, you agreed that if the Head Captain wasn't satisfied, that you'd allow yourself to be taken,"_ Soyokaze said seriously. _"By not adhering to this you're giving him every reason to doubt your intentions."_

"But he's wrong! If I could tell him how far I've come with those eight, he'd realize I'm almost back to normal. But because of the way they're viewed, I can't."

 _"Yukiko, do you really want to risk turning on everyone if you face Aizen again?"_ Soyokaze asked.

Yukiko came to a halt, eyes closed in frustration. "Of course not...but I'd rather never see the light of day again than return to that miserable state!"

As she spoke, she glanced around at her surroundings and noticed where she was. The building before her appeared ominous, and yet, she couldn't help but see this as the source of her salvation. She took a shaky step toward the structure, then another.

 _"Yukiko, you can't really be thinking of that method,"_ Soyokaze pleaded. _"He warned you of the dangers. You can't do this to yourself."_

"The war may start any day now," Yukiko muttered under her breath. "I don't want to be a threat...but I don't want to go to that place either. I have to do something...this is my only option."

She stepped through the large gate that surrounded the structure, heading slowly toward the front door. As she moved, the door opened and the man she was looking for stepped out. The striped hat and fan hid his features, but she didn't need to see them to understand that he'd already figured out her reason for being there. Her jaw tightened and her fingers curled into fists. She needed to be strong...this was her only shot and she was not going to take no for an answer from this man.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked when she stopped before him. "You know what the results might be."

Yukiko nodded. "Yes, I'm willing to deal with the consequences." He sighed and gestured for her to enter. As she stepped past him, she paused and looked past the fan to meet his gaze. "There is one other thing I'd like for you to do, if you could please."

* * *

Two hours. Two wasted hours and Byakuya was no closer to finding Yukiko than he was before. He'd been charged with locating her and returning her to the Soul Society. As much as he'd rather she not end up in that place of traitors, he also couldn't deny the logic behind the decision. As such, he was bent on following through on his orders. Which led him to standing at the front of this shop owned by the most annoying man he'd ever met in his existence.

He strolled across the open yard, ignoring the two children that were there and heading inside. Here he spotted one of his old instructors, the cat woman looking over at him curiously. "Byakuya boy," she greeted with a smile. "What brings you here? I thought you were still preparing in the Soul Society."

"I am," he answered, ignoring the old nickname. "I've come in search of Yukiko. I know this is one place she'd go for refuge. Where is she?"

Youruichi looked him over for a moment before shrugging and leading him to another room. This one was filled with massive tubes holding various liquids, computer screens and wires. It was clearly a room for Urahara. As he stepped farther into the room, he saw the man in question leaning over a table next to a rather bizarre looking machine. He glanced at the table and noticed what looked like human legs. Another gigai perhaps?

"So, what brings you here, 6th Squad Captain?" Byakuya's eyes were drawn back to the man, who'd now turned around to face him. He looked amused under that strange hat which irritated the squad captain. "Is it something I can help with?"

"Yukiko. I know you know where she is," Byakuya answered shortly. He was not in the mood to play with the ex-soul reapers.

"I see," Urahara said, his amusement growing. "Unfortunately you're a bit late. As of right now, she can no longer be safely moved."

This answer confused the captain as he glanced around the room again, expecting to see her in one of the tubes or something. Then his eyes settled on the table behind Urahara and he moved closer. To his surprise, the scientist stepped aside allowing a clear view of the redheaded soul reaper lying on it. Her eyes were closed, her mouth and nose covered by a breathing apparatus, tubes coming from her arms attached to bags of liquid, and wires running from her head to the machine.

"What have you done?" he asked, looking it all over. It certainly seemed as if moving her would be a bad idea.

"She requested it," Urahara sighed, brushing some hair out of her face. "Right now, she's been placed in a never ending loop of her memories, being forced to relive those hundred plus years over and over again."

"Why? What's the purpose of doing this to herself?" Byakuya asked. He couldn't deny a small part of him was severely worried about her. Would she never return to the woman he remembered as a teen?

"This is to ensure one of two things," Urahara answered. "Either she's able to come to terms with what those three did to her and find the strength to fight them, or never awaken."

"In other words, she will not rise from this state unless she's able to find that strength?" Byakuya clarified.

"Yes...and no," Urahara sighed. "There is one other outcome. This may finish what Aizen started. She may awaken as his ally instead."

Byakuya nodded and stepped closer to the bed, his hand coming to rest on her forehead. "No, there are only two outcomes," he thought, remembering the way she'd stood up to him all those years ago. "She'd never fall to a man such as Aizen."

After a few moments, he stepped away from the bed and turned to leave. "So, what are you going to tell your superiors?" Urahara asked curiously.

"The truth," Byakuya answered. "Yukiko is in such a state that she cannot be moved but will have no chance of being a threat during this war. We will simply have to wait until she awakens."

"Oh, you make it sound as if you're certain she will," Urahara murmured teasingly.

Without turning toward the scientist, Byakuya smiled privately to himself. "Perhaps I am," he said. Then without another word he flashed outside, where he opened a Senkaimon to head back. "Yukiko, I have no doubt you will follow your Captain into battle once more. No other captain's orders will ever come before his. Do not disgrace yourself or your squad by falling to a traitor." With that thought, he stepped through the gate knowing the war would begin without her.

* * *

Shippoman: Final preparations for the war are under way, Yukiko has made sure to remove herself from the fight, and all Soul Reapers have been called back to the Soul Society. In the next chapter, the Vizard are alerted to the current situation and secrets are revealed. So stay tuned and please remember to R&R. :p


	25. Chapter 25

Shippoman: Sorry this one took so long. I was having issues figuring out how to write this out. It's something I've never actually done and wanted to make sure to get across the important information without it dragging out too long. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 25:

"Good, you're finally here."

Kensei shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other as he stood at the entrance to the Urahara shop. Beside him, Shinji looked just as uncomfortable as he did. Earlier that evening, they'd both been summoned to the Urahara shop without any explanation as to why. The ex-squad 9 captain looked over at the person welcoming to the store and glared. Something was seriously wrong, he just couldn't place his finger on why.

"Hey, Youruichi," Shinji greeted, pulling the brim of his had down a bit. "Mind explaining why the sudden summons?"

"I would, but I'm not the one that called you," she answered, gesturing for the two of them to enter.

Kensei frowned, but followed her and the blonde inside. Yeah, something was definitely wrong. They still had some last minute preparations to make before the war began; which could be any day now. What did they have up their sleeves this time?

The pair were lead down to the training grounds where they arrived just in time to see Ichigo, Chad, and Ishida jump into an opening the shopkeeper had created. "So he's going to Hueco Mundo," Kensei grunted. "When we heard about Orihime, we figured he would. This isn't what you wanted to show us, is it?"

"Of course not," Youruichi answered. "If that was the case, we'd just tell you."

Kensei looked from her back to Urahara who seemed to be talking to a few kids. What the hell were they up to? "So then tell us now. Did Kisuke need to show us something specific or are you two just wasting time?"

He glanced around at the female soul reaper only to realize she was gone. How annoying. "Good, you've arrived."

Kensei didn't know whether to be surprised or pissed as the shopkeeper. He'd always been annoying, but something about the whole situation made anything the man did ten times worse. "Why'd you call us here, Kisuke?" he demanded.

Urahara smiled, his eyes hidden beneath the shadow of his hat. "I didn't," he answered smoothly. Kensei growled his growing irritation and Urahara simply turned back to the ladder, gesturing for the pair to follow. "You'll have to follow me if you want to understand."

Before either Vizard could say anything, he flashed to the top of the ladder and into the shop. The pair shared a look before quickly following after. He silently led them into his lab where he stepped to the side and gestured toward the center. Kensei felt apprehensive about what was going on, but still followed the directions until he saw a table next to an odd machine...where Yukiko was lying down. She was hooked up to the machine in three different ways while an IV dripped liquid nutrients into her body.

"Yukiko?! What the hell, Kisuke?" He flashed over to the girl and reached toward her but was stopped by Shinji's hand on his shoulder. "What?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," the blonde answered. He turned around to face the shopkeeper, his expression revealing nothing. "Explain, Kisuke. What exactly is this about?"

Urahara stepped up to the strange machine and placed a hand on the top. "I'm only doing what Yukiko asked me to," he answered, flicking on the screen. "From what I understand, this should explain the rest." After that, he turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Kensei, Shinji..."

At the sound of the voice, the two turned from the door to look at Yukiko who was still lying unconscious on the table. They shared a look, clearly not understanding where the voice came from, until they spotted the screen. Instead of blackness, they saw what looked like a lighted room with a full-length mirror in the center. Reflected in the smooth surface, was Yukiko. Were they seeing through her eyes somehow?

" _If you're watching this, that means Kisuke was successful in making my request a reality," she said nervously. "I know you're both probably angry right now, but please don't direct it at him. This was my choice, my decision, and I feel like it was the only option I had left."_

Kensei clenched his teeth as he looked from the screen to the girl on the table. How could he not get angry at this? "Idiot," he muttered under his breath. "You could have at least stayed with us."

His attention was returned to the screen as she continued.

 _The two of you are the most important people in my life, having been supporting me from the very beginning. I know there will never be a way for me to repay that debt."_

"There she goes making terrible assumptions again," Shinji sighed. Kensei wondered what was going through the blonde's head before he was once more distracted.

" _I know this might be selfish of me, but I want you to see this. I want you to understand what I've gone through, so that when I wake up, you can continue to support me." She looked like she was on the verge of tears as the image began to blur. She quickly wiped at her eyes before continuing. "I know that I've been acting selfishly this whole time, but allow me just one more request. Wait for me... It might be a very long wait, but I'd like to know that when I wake up, you'll still be willing to accept me."_

Kensei felt his gut churn as she finished and slowly reached down to take her hand. He'd wait. She'd waited 107 years to be rescued, he could wait however long it took for her to wake up. Glancing over at Shinji, he felt the blonde was thinking the same thing.

" _That was incredibly cheesy."_

The two ex-captains looked back at the screen and noticed it was still going. However, neither of them recognized the new voice and wondered where it'd come from.

" _You think so?" Yukiko asked, sheepishly. "Was at least better than the last go around?"_

" _Yes, but that's hardly saying something. Besides, you completely left out that you're enduring an endless loop of the memories of the traitorous three."_

" _Crap! Okay, do we have time to try again?"_

 _There was a knock and the image shifted to stare at a door which opened. "Yukiko, it's ready," Kisuke spoke from the doorway._

" _O-Okay," she stuttered. "I guess that'll have to do, Soyokaze. I just wish I had time to say more."_

" _Well, at the very least I think you said what was most important."_

" _Thanks, Soyokaze."_

"That's her sword?" Kensei asked in surprise. "Is that how she always communicates with her sword?"

"Probably," Shinji said with a shrug. "Think about it, she's always talked about how her blade was the one keeping her memories in check. Though it is a bit surprising. I doubt there's anyone within the Soul Society that has constant conversations with their own weapon. I mean, I sure don't."

"Me neither. Tachikaze has never been the chatty type," Kensei agreed. It was such a strange thing for them. It was also strange that Yukiko had said she wanted them to see and understand something. See what? His thought process was interrupted as a new image came on the screen. This one showed the squad 5 barracks. "What now?"

Yukiko's voice again came from the screen, though this time she did not appear on it at all. "I think, we're seeing her memories," Shinji muttered lightly.

"But which ones?" Kensei grumbled. He didn't like the insinuation of her wanting them to understand then showing her memories. What would they see?

 _They watched as past Yukiko went into the barracks and to the Captain's office where she chatted with Shinji. Occasionally, they'd hear her blade chime in, but mostly it was the two discussing her successfully finishing her bankai training. Then past Shinji handed over a file that she glanced through, her thoughts being spoken as clearly as everything said out loud._

"I didn't know she was that worried about me getting tired of her," Shinji said, pulling the brim of his hat down. "If I'd have known what I do now...I'd never have sent her on that mission."

Kensei glanced over at his friend, before his eyes returned to the screen just as the image changed to the front of the warehouse. The silver haired Vizard clenched his fists, knowing what was coming next.

 _Just as they'd been told, they watched her hesitate at the door as a ripple passed over the handle. Then, despite the urging of her sword and her own reservations, she entered the building alone. Inside her ripples revealed Aizen's hidden lab; complete with hollows in tubes, fluttering paperwork that mentioned hollows the both of them had faced, and then finally the vial of Yukiko's blood._

Shinji needed to place a hand on his shoulder at this point to keep him from breaking something, but the memory wasn't over yet. _They watched a she battled Tousen, then Gin, and finally get trapped by Aizen. The two ex-captains were amused when she spit on him, but that changed the moment he went over to a lever and flipped the switch._

The screen went black just after her screams filled the air, next they saw was her waking up in her room at the barracks. "What the hell?" Kensei said, as the image shifted from one side to the other. She was clearly just as surprised.

" _What happened?" she demanded, getting to her feet. "Was it, all a nightmare?"_ The screen showed her looking at herself, clearly searching for where she'd been injured before. There was nothing. _"What do you think, Soyokaze?"_

Kensei expected to hear that unusual voice again, but nothing came. Even when she shouted to her sword, there was no response. In fear and desperation, she searched everywhere for her sword, but couldn't find it. Then she ran out of her room, dashing down one passageway after another, bumping into people along the way. Just as she was starting to get desperate, she plowed headlong into a familiar form that caught her before she fell over.

" _Woah, what have I said about running around inside the barracks?" he demanded._

The screen shifted and suddenly the two captains were looking at Shinji in his captain's haori. "What's going on?" Kensei growled.

"Did you forget already?" Shinji sighed. "Aizen uses illusions. Yukiko did say she had to deal with illusions constantly after that day."

 _Yukiko continued to stare at Shinji until a wave passed over his face. "You're not real," she said, backing away. "Where am I?" Then she began looking all around before shouting in anger. "Aizen! Where are you, bastard? Where is this? Where's my sword?"_

" _Now now, this won't do at all." Yukiko looked around to see Aizen standing in one of the hallways shaking his head. "You have to play along with the game, Yukiko. Breaking the illusion is not allowed."_

" _What have you done, Aizen?" she demanded._

 _He sighed again before waving his hand and making the illusion completely disappear. In its place was absolute nothing. "I have placed you in a prison you cannot escape from where no one will ever find you," he explained. "Inside a soul candy."_

" _I see...well then, I'll just fill this prison until it bursts!" She started putting out as much energy as she could, the waves of wind slicing through the air and going in all directions until they faded from sight. She kept putting out more and more energy, straining herself to the very limit until she ran out and collapsed to the ground. "Why, why couldn't I reach an edge?"_

" _A soul candy has it's own space inside that has no end, despite being so small," Aizen explained. "You could run in any direction for years and still not reach an end."_

The image began to blur and the two captains could tell she'd started crying. They shared a glance as she forced herself to her feet and faced her aggressor.

" _Aizen. You can't keep me here," she declared. "Do you honestly believe you can keep this a secret from the head captain? From Captain Hirako? They will find me...and you'll end up in the maggot's nest, assuming they don't execute you for everything you've done that is."_

 _Aizen shook his head. "You're mistaken, Yukiko. No one will ever know if you're even alive." He took a step toward her and she scrambled backward to avoid him, bumping into something solid in the process. "It's time you were punished for breaking the game."_

The image was slowly growing dark as Yukiko gasped and looked down to see a blade through her chest. She looked behind her to see the face of her captain, frowning at her. Kensei grit his teeth at this, his hands once again shaking in anger.

" _Yukiko. This is what will happen to you if you fail to play along, or break my illusion. And the punishments will get worse."_

"That twisted bastard," Kensei growled. "What did he hope to get out of this anyway?"

"I'm not sure," Shinji responded. "But I get the feeling we'll find out if we keep watching."

The image before them faded to be replaced by another. They went through a few different memories, all having to do with Yukiko pretending to play along and ending with her either snapping and trying to flee, or declaring she wouldn't do something she was asked.

Two in particular caught their attention. The first was when she went to Shinji for protection and he took her to a room where four men were standing around and locked the door on her. No matter how much she shouted for him to open the door or not to leave her there, he ignored her. At the same time, the four men approached her and tore her clothes off before the image started bouncing rhythmically. The ex-captains felt bile rise in their stomachs at the sight and Kensei grip Yukiko's hand to try to comfort her. How the hell was she able to the blonde after that?

The next was just as bad, if not worse. It was clearly the next time she awoke, as she ran through the seireitei as fast as she could, avoiding everyone that passed by until she plowed into Kensei. As panicked as she was, she clung to him, pleading with him to protect her and crying about what Shinji had done. He said he understood and would beat the blonde captain up. Shinji watched as the fake Kensei tried to comfort her and lead her back to the squad 9 barracks and into the captain's room. He had to admit, the illusion of himself and of Kensei were good...too good. No wonder she had such issues determining what was real. Kensei's face turned red at this and he momentarily turned away from the image, allowing Shinji to realize what it was.

The fake Kensei consoled the crying Yukiko, holding her close, then leaning over and beginning to kiss her. Shinji averted his gaze at this point, as he listened to the make out session. It sounds grew worse until he heard the sounds of shifting clothing. Then Yukiko asked what was going on. The fake Kensei more or less told her she wanted it as much as he did and that she shouldn't fight it. Shinji glanced over at the real Kensei as Yukiko began begging him to stop, to back off, to not do what he was clearly doing. The silver haired captain looked like he was about to explode and break the machine to keep from hearing any more.

Shinji quickly went to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Believe me, I don't want to see this any more than you do," he muttered, trying to ignore the sounds of sex going on amidst the desperate pleas. "But there's a reason Yukiko wanted us to know. The least we can do is wait it out."

Kensei nodded reluctantly and their attention returned to the screen just as it changed again. Again it showed her running through the halls until she ran into the fake Kensei...where he greeted her like nothing had happened. She panicked and ran in the opposite direction as the fake Kensei gave chase and her progress was halted by none other than Aizen. The image was blurred by her tears, bu there was no mistaking that figure.

At first, they believed he was going to punish her for trying to run away again, but this time he simply wrapped her up in his arms and led her off saying he'd shield her from whatever was troubling her and that she should explain what happened. When they reached his quarters, she explained about Shinji and Kensei before devolving into a fit of sobs. Eventually, she calmed down and looked up at her protector.

" _Aizen, what am I supposed to do now? I can't trust Captain Hirako, or Kensei. But I still have to do my job."_

 _Aizen lifted her chin so she was staring into his eyes. "Trust me. I won't let any of them harm you any more. I will protect you, Yukiko."_

" _Aizen..."_

 _He drew closer to her, their noses almost touching. "Please, call me Sousuke."_

 _They remained that close to each other as she breathed. "Sousuke."_

 _As soon as she said his name, he moved closer and..._

The image suddenly shifted again to where Yukiko was kneeling on the ground inside a broken building. The two captains again shared a look at this, not believing what they'd just seen. She was again able to speak with her blade and moments later, Youruichi appeared in her cat form. It was the moment she'd been freed.

"Ichigo broke her out...just in time," Shinji breathed. "Chances are if that scene had finished playing out, she would have been Aizen's pawn."

"What the hell was with that kiss?" Kensei growled as she slammed his fist into the nearest object, almost breaking it.

"Isn't it obvious? He was trying to replace everyone she held close to her with the three of them," Shinji explained, turning from the screen which had gone dark. Looked like the show was finally over. "The only thing he couldn't fully do was replace you. She was in love and love tends to blind people. So, he had to form the same sort of connection with her in order to remove you from that position while making you do the worst thing possible to her. He very nearly succeeded too."

Kensei felt his blood boiling over as he remembered seeing the image of himself forcefully taking her and Aizen about to take his place. His hollow was relishing the anger flowing through him and encouraging him to take it out on someone. No, that'd have to wait. He was going to unleash every once of hatred he had on that bastard. He was going to pay for everything he did to Yukiko, for everything he did to the Vizard, for everything he did to his squad.

"Come on, we're out of time," he said lowly. He gave Yukiko's hand one last squeeze before turning and leading the way to the door. "He'll show up any day now, we need to be ready, so I can tear him in half when we finally see his face again. I'm going to kill him."

Shinji smirked to himself, knowing just how his friend felt. It was finally time for all of them to get a little vengeance on the traitorous captain. It would all end soon, and he couldn't wait to get his hands dirty.

* * *

Shippoman: The time's finally here. Shinji and Kensei finally have a better understanding of what exactly happened to Yukiko and what Aizen was aiming for. Now, all they have to do is eliminate the threat before she awakens. In the next chapter, the war goes on and the Vizard step in to assist. Get to see how this all goes down through Kensei.

I just want to give a shout out to TheDragonQueen706 for your review. It's always good to hear what you the readers think of my story. Your comments help keep me motivated and make me a better writer. Thank you to all of you who've been with me from the beginning. I hope you'll enjoy the last couple chapters.


	26. Chapter 26

Shippoman: Thank you all for your continued reading. I apologize ahead of time for how much shorter this chapter is than previous, but I couldn't think of a better cut off. Enjoy.

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Chapter 26:

"Let's roll."

Those two words were all that was spoken as the Vizard set out from their warehouse to the massive barrier set up around the area of Karakura where the soul reapers had prepared for Aizen's arrival. Kensei glanced around at his comrades, knowing chances were high that all would be injured and some may lose their lives. This may be the last time he saw any of them, but that didn't matter. He faced forward, eyes set as he focused on the task at hand. So long as Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tousen paid for everything they'd done it'd be worth it.

In moments they arrived at the edge of the barrier, finding it to be quite sturdy. "Are you kidding me?" Hiyori shouted in anger. "They had to put someway for others to get in. How else do they plan on getting reinforcements when they get beaten?"

"Shut up, Hiyori," Shinji sighed. "They probably did, but a barrier like this takes a lot of people to keep it stable." He walked up to the edge of the barrier and reached out to touch it.

"Actually, only four." Everyone turned as an older soul reaper appeared, his silver hair and white jinbaori signaling who he was.

"Chojiro, it's been awhile," Shinji greeted.

"What do you mean only four?" Love asked curiously.

"It's a barrier that has four points that hold it up. We have one soul reaper at each to maintain the barrier as well as stakes that contain spritual energy." After his explanation, he looked over each of them, one hand resting firmly on his sword. "What brings you here?"

"Tch, is that really your question?" Kensei asked derisively. "Should be obvious, even to you."

"You plan to assist us?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, we're not here to help you soul reapers," Hiyori spat.

"If you want to call us allies, that's fine," Shinji said, cutting across anything else Hiyori had to say. "We just want to destroy Aizen, nothing more."

Kensei wasn't sure if the lieutenant was going to let them in or not. Regardless, they were going to enter the battle, even if it meant fighting him off as well. Eventually, Lieutenant Sasakibe nodded and stepped up to the barrier, producing a small object before opening small space, just large enough for the Vizard to enter one at a time.

"Even if you are not an ally, your assistance with this battle will be greatly appreciated," he said, gesturing for them to enter. "We cannot afford to turn away any who wish for the same result as us."

Shinji smirked at this and Kensei followed him inside. Once past the barrier, the group immediately set out for the center of the spiritual energy that was fluctuating from battle. When they arrived, the noticed garganta open with two hollows stepping out. One that appeared to be a child and a massive monster. The child moved, downing one of the captains that were still fighting before the ball of flames was devoured, revealing the man they came to kill.

"There he is," Kensei thought, feeling his blood boil just at the sight of the three traitors. "Now, for all of us who were hurt by that asshole, for my squad 9, and for Yukiko...I'm going to rip you to shreds."

The group shunpoed into the fray as Shinji announced their arrival, Kensei took some pleasure in the looks of shock from the soul reapers still in battle and those who were recovering. Unsurprising, the head captain remembered them, as did a few others. That didn't matter to him, though, there was only one thing on his mind.

"So, is there anyone you guys want to say hello to?" Shinji asked, keeping his attention on the three traitors. "Now's your chance."

Kensei almost rolled his eyes at the question, listening to the answers of his comrades. Like him, they didn't feel a need or a desire. "Tch, there's no one here that's worth it," he muttered. He watched Lisa take off, probably to go see her old captain, and Shinji went to have a word with the old man. He waited, patiently for his comrades to finish, once they'd returned he fixed his gloves prepping to rush in to crush the opponents before him.

Then suddenly, the child hollow released a yell causing the monstrous one to open a massive mouth, releasing a herd of Gillian. He smirked, pulling his mask on as they all set out to destroy each and every one of them. Kensei took great pleasure in obliterating one by pummeling into its face over and over until it shattered, then pulled his combat knife from his boot and buried it into one that came from behind him.

With that done, he glanced around at the rest of his comrades, not surprised they all were able to take out multiple Gillian on their own. Though Love's ripping one in half with his bare hands did irk him slightly. Regardless, he and Mashiro continued destroying the Gillian while the rest went to join the fight against the remaining arrancar. He had some fun destroying the Gillian, though Mashiro's complaints were getting on his nerves. She even went so far as to yell at him for killing one she "had her eyes on". But, him being focused on other things, he was able to stay calm and let her have the massive one that released the Gillian in the first place.

Of course she easily destroyed it and moved onto the kid next to it, all without removing her mask. He knew under normal circumstances she could keep it on longer than the rest of them, but that was without fighting at the level she was now. "Hey, Mashiro. Make sure you take your mask off then put it back on," he called out. "You don't want to run out of time."

Of course she had to argue the point, telling him how much she could normally go. He knew her limit was hours beyond the rest of them, but she'd never spent that entire time fighting such a high level opponent. An hour, maybe two, but not the full 15. Still, he couldn't argue that she was probably fine, so he shrugged and let her continue fighting the last of Aizen's army.

Aizen...

Kensei glanced away from the battle going on before him to look at the man standing so confidently before his comrades. It was such a contrast between them. Aizen, standing without a scratch on him, looking down at his opponents as if they were beneath him. He wanted to destroy that confident bastard, break him for every person he cared about that was toyed with. There was no way he'd lose to him.

As he thought this over, he heard Mashiro say in surprise that her time had run out and turned just in time to see her get punched across the fake city. Quick as a flash, he dashed in front of her, blocking a second blow as he picked her up in his free arm. Then he sent the kid flying and moved to a building top to lie her down.

Kensei looked over her bruised face feeling irritation fill him over her not listening and as well as over the fact his long time partner had been injured. She started speaking and he barely registered her words, answering her question with an insult. Then he turned his attention to the Arrancar kid. He was going to finish this quickly and then go kill Aizen. He was going to end this now.

* * *

This couldn't be happening. How could one captain be capable of holding off so many past and current captains and lieutenants? Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes as he watched Shinji swing his sword, coming to a halt as he was once again blocked, before his opponent flash stepped away. Despite his inability to understand why, it was clear this was exactly what was happening. Move after move, attack after attack, each and every one of them was being dodged or blocked.

Rose, Love, Lisa, Soi fon and her lieutenant, Toushiro, Komamura, Shunsui, and Shinji. All were fighting Aizen at once and not one was landing a blow all so he would be capable of finding an opening to strike. Ichigo felt a shiver run through his body as he watched the one sided battle continue. No one's attack seemed to be getting through at all, and every once in awhile he'd lose sight of Aizen.

Then, it happened. They were suddenly no longer fighting Aizen. Instead, a female soul reaper was being bombarded by their attacks. Again Ichigo couldn't fathom how this was possible. Soi fon rushed forward, striking just to the side of the girl who seemed to be standing in confusion in the center of all the carnage. A pillar of ice erupted to her side which she barely avoided. Then a sword of shadow shot out and she tried to move away from the pillar. Finally, Shinji spun his sword around causing the girl's eyes to widen as she was stabbed through by Toushiro. But, why? Why were they...?

"Looks like we finally did it," Shinji sighed, resting his blade against his shoulder. "You can rest easy now, Hiyori, Yukiko. It's over."

Shinji's words shook Ichigo as he tried to figure out what he'd just seen and where their enemy had gone. Eventually the dam of confusion broke and he shouted, "What the hell are you guys doing?"

At his exclamation, Shinji and the rest looked back at Hitsugaya who only just realized who his sword was piercing. He slowly lowered to the top of a roof while the rest looked around for the real Azizen. "When did he...?" the blonde demanded. "When could he have...?"

Finally, Ichigo located the traitor walking away from Iba and Kira, and he was sure the rest had noticed him as well. Although, now he had no idea what they actually saw. Moments later, the pair fell and Toushiro shouted as he charged the ex-captain. Ichigo tightened his hold on his sword as he realized they were in serious trouble.

Unsurprising, the ice wielding captain was cut down, his left arm having been cut clean off his body. Not knowing what he could do, he watched as Shinji and the rest tried to charge him as well. He'd never admit it, but he feared they'd all be cut down just the same.

Then just as Shinji was about to make contact with Aizen, a wall of wind appeared between them. Ichigo blinked as he felt a familiar spirit energy wash over him. "Ume?" he murmured in surprise. Hadn't she been taken back to soul society when Orihime was taken?

The teen watched as Yukiko suddenly appeared behind Aizen. What was more surprising was the fact her sword was sheathed and she didn't seem to be planning on attacking him. She met Aizen's gaze without any wavering, any fear, or hatred.

"Yukiko! What are you doing here?" Shinji shouted at her.

At his shout, she squeaked and moved farther behind Aizen as if she was hiding. Moments later, she poke her head out from behind him and glared at the blonde. "D-Don't you dare lay a finger on Sousuke!" she shouted.

This froze everyone present and Ichigo felt his heart stop. She'd called him by his first name...what did that mean?

"Are you getting in my way, Yukiko?" Aizen asked slowly, glancing back at her.

She immediately shook her head vehemently and bowed fully to him. "I'd never dream of it!" she said just loudly enough for them to hear. Then she slowly looked up at him from her posture of humility. "I know they could never hope to be as strong as you, Sousuke. But they should never think themselves worthy enough to fight you directly. You shouldn't have to sully your sword on their blood."

"What?" Shinji demanded.

Ichigo could understand Shinji's confusion. What was she saying? What had happened since the last time he'd seen her at the Vizard compound? Was she...actually praising him? If so, maybe he could get to her like before. "Ume! What are you doing?" he called out.

She turned her eyes on him and glared before sticking her tongue out at him. "That's not my name," she said, balling her hands into fists. "And don't talk to me like we're friends or something."

"It...didn't work," Ichigo muttered under his breath. "No way."

No one seemed willing to move as Aizen turned his attention to Yukiko, touching her cheek to move her face toward his. "Are you claiming they might be able to harm me?" he asked.

A soft smile came her lips as she stared up at him in seeming admiration. "No. There isn't a soul reaper alive that could harm you," she said gently. "I'm sorry if I interfered. I just know how terrible these people can be. I...I became afraid for a moment. Please forgive me." Her eyes began to water just a little at this and Aizen brushed the forming tears off her eyes.

"I see. You have every reason to fear them," he said gently. "You don't have to worry, I'll end your nightmares here." He bent forward the slightest bit, his face moving toward hers.

"Yukiko...don't listen to him!" Shinji shouted desperately. "Yukiko!"

She didn't seem to hear him as she closed her eyes, a smile on her lips as she allowed him to move her. "S-Sousuke..."

* * *

Shippoman: Well crap, looks like Yukiko's last ditch effort failed. She's fallen to Aizen's training and is now completely his. How will this change the tide of the battle? What will Kensei think? Is there no way to fix this? Stay tuned to find out and please remember to R&R. :D

I'm sorry if the layout of this chapter is bit jumpier than usual. I was having some issues trying to figure out where to write this part from because the anime and manga did show us quite a bit. I also noticed there was so much going on that there wasn't much of a gap for Yukiko to make an appearance, so I took a few liberties. Oh well... Hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to the final chapter or two to this story. Please let me know if you want me to have her deal with any other aspects of Bleach. The quincy arc, or any of the filler arcs. Thanks again!


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

"Yukiko...don't listen to him! Yukiko!"

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for Shinji as he watched the gap between the two slowly disappear. He sincerely hoped Kensei hadn't noticed her appearance yet, though he couldn't fathom why he wouldn't. Still, one thing rang clear in his mind. They'd failed to save her again. Kisuke had warned them this was one of the outcomes, they'd seen what he'd been trying to do. Looked like his conditioning had finally taken root. The Yukiko he knew and had trained was long gone...now she was also an enemy.

His hand closed tighter over his hilt preparing to rush the pair during their distracted moment, but something made him pause. For an instant he thought he felt a fluctuation of power and saw right through Aizen. But what did that mean?

In the blink of an eye, there was a battle cry that struck the area and blood flew into the air, breaking the illusion of time slowing. There was Aizen, standing with one hand over his left side, blood seeping between his fingers. The traitor's eyes were now narrowed in pain, though he still seemed amused. What had just happened? Who hurt him? Where did Yukiko go?

"Ugh! I can't believe I said all that!" Shinji followed the sound of the voice until he spotted Yukiko standing near Ichigo. She shivered and seemed to almost be dry heaving. "Ugh...I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Ume...?" Ichigo said nervously. He looked really worried as he looked her over.

"Hey, Ichigo," she greeted, smiling at him. "Sorry about all that. I didn't really mean it. I was just acting a part so Aizen would drop his guard. Guess I didn't do a good enough job."

"What do you mean? You hit him pretty hard it looks like," he said, his eyes darting momentarily toward their enemy.

Yukiko shook her head. "I was aiming to run him through the chest," she explained with a sigh. "But I panicked at the last minute and he caught on. What I did was just a glancing blow; probably hurt and is definitely bleeding, but not enough to really be a threat to him." She paused and shivered again. "And now I feel like I need to shower in bleach or something...probably brush my teeth with it too. I just feel so gross all over."

"Yukiko...what the hell was all that?" Shinji demanded, as he flash-stepped to her side. "Are you still you or did you actually lose it and are on his side?"

"Hey, Shinji." She smiled sheepishly at him and scratched the back of her head. Then she bowed fully at the waist, her hair hiding her face. "I'm really sorry if I freaked you out, but you know what they say, "to fool your enemy you must first fool your friends". I thought it'd be worth it if I managed to deal a fatal blow, but then his illusion went in for that kiss and I lost my nerve. I'm so sorry."

Shinji blinked a few times at her explanation before starting to laugh. "You really scared us back there," he said in relief. "For a moment, I thought we'd actually lost you."

Yukiko smiled and scratched the back of her head nervously. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to worry you so much." She lowered her hand and gripped the pommel of her sword. "But I promise, I will not allow Aizen to win."

"Heh, good to hear, Yukiko," Shinji said, turning his attention back to their enemy. "Glad to have your help, though I'm not sure what all you can do."

"Oh, I don't plan on fighting him directly."

Shinji turned a wary eye toward her as she released her blade. He noticed Soi fon, Shunsui, and the squad 7 captain were also looking at her in uncertainty. "Why's that?" he asked slowly.

She grinned, her energy spiking. "Because, I won't be much help if most of my energy is going to be used canceling out his illusion."

Shinji stared for several moments trying to understand what she meant, before remembering her explanation from before. When her wind clashed with Aizen's water based zanpakto, it created... He spun around, seeing the Aizen holding his bleeding side in pain with ripples passing through parts of his body. Behind the ripples, nothing. Beside him, were ripples spreading over nothing, but behind it stood another Aizen with a frown on his face and no sign of any pain. Through the lower spaces, the Vizard was able to make out where her blade had cut him. It was shallow and hardly any blood had been drawn.

"I see, so you intend to make it possible for them to see me," Aizen murmured. "Do you honestly believe that eliminating my illusions will be enough to earn you a victory?"

"Of course not," Yukiko answered, pumping out as much of her wind energy as she could. "But it should be able to keep the likes of you from dragging the injured into the fray again." She glanced over at Shinji who was all smiles at this, brandishing his sword once more. "Captain Hirako, I leave the rest to you."

Shinji chuckled as he and the rest of the captains present prepared for battle once more. "Oy, I'm not a captain anymore, remember. Just call me Shinji."

He caught her smile as she nodded. "Of course. Got get him, Shinji."

With her encouragement, Shinji led the charge. Although they were one captain short, the fact they no longer had to worry about his illusions reinvigorated their forces. The remaining captains swarmed Aizen, attacking in coordinated efforts. The blonde Vizard felt that although they were still having issues striking their enemy, he at least wasn't getting any decent shots in either. They were keeping him on the defensive and that meant something. Then, Aizen suddenly released a powerful hado that flew in between their fighters and flew off toward the rest of the city. At first, Shinji believed he'd just missed and it would dissipate or plow harmlessly into a building. But as he chanced a glance at its trajectory, he realized it did have a target.

"Hiyori!" he shouted, spinning around to try and make it in time. In doing so, he opened himself up and felt a gust of wind against his back. At the same time, a wall of wind appeared in front of the attack, allowing it burst against it. Seeing as how Hiyori was safe, he glanced back and saw a similar appeared behind him.

"Shinji, keep your focus on Aizen," Yukiko called out. He looked over at her to see a confident smirk appear on her face. "Leave the others to me. I won't let anyone else get pulled in."

Shinji's grip tightened on his sword. He had to stay focused, and that meant trusting that Yukiko would be able to keep up. So he turned his attention back to his enemy and returned to the fight. The group took turns attacking, trying to play off the supposed openings that were created after each one, but no matter what they did, it seemed as if Aizen was still one step ahead of them.

Eventually, Aizen seemed to get bored with them as he began cutting each and every one of them down. With each fallen captain, the rest grew nervous and tense, making it easier for him to cut the next, until the only opponents left were Ichigo and Yukiko. Shinji cursed as he slowly fell, blood spilling out from the cut on his chest. Even with Yukiko making it possible to know exactly where he was, he still bested all of them.

"I'm sorry, Yukiko," he thought, his body striking the ground hard. "Looks like I still couldn't win. Maybe, maybe you can succeed where I couldn't."

* * *

"H-how is this happening?" Ichigo asked in shock.

Yukiko felt her body begin to shake at the sight. Her friends, falling before her one by one. At the sight she felt a few of the doors within her burst open and she stumbled holding her head with one hand. She was loosing them all again.

"Yukiko, snap out of it! He's coming!"

She managed to shake off the images just in time to notice the presence standing right behind her. In a flash, she snagged Ichigo's robes and pulled him with her, jumping away from Aizen's swinging blade. Luckily she was able to avoid the blow, but still felt his blade tear through the cloth on her left arm.

"Ume, you alright?" Ichigo asked worriedly.

She took a few seconds to calm her breathing and shake off the rest of the images, forcing them back once more. "I'm fine, Ichigo," she answered. Glancing at her arm, she could see his blade and torn through the cloth, but she narrowly avoided his blade reaching her skin. "I know I'll never fully be rid of the images he forced on me, but I won't let that hinder my fight."

"But with the other captains gone, how are we supposed to win?" he demanded.

"Simple, we stick to what they had planned," she answered, moving her fans into a more offensive stance. "Only this time, I will force an opening. Make sure you take it."

Before Ichigo could respond, a surge of energy ripped through the area accompanied by several pillars of flames erupting into the sky. "That will not be necessary!" Yukiko felt her blood chill at the voice and nervously drew closer to Ichigo. "I will finish this myself."

"H-Head Captain...Yamamoto," she breathed. "Not sure if I'm happy he stepped up or scared."

"Do not think I've forgotten your insubordination, ex-fifth seat Yukiko," Yamamoto said loudly, drawing his sword, allowing flames to coat the blade. "You will receive punishment when we return."

"Hehe, yes sir." Sweat ran down her forehead from her nerves and the heat of the surrounding flames. As a precaution, she took a deep breath and formed a wind barrier around each group of people she could find. She knew it wouldn't do much against his flames, but at the very least it should keep them from affecting the rest directly.

Before Yamamoto could bring his flames against Aizen, they vanished. Moments later, the childish Arrancar attacked him from behind, though now he was in his released form. Yukiko watched in concern as the head captain was assaulted by a dozen arms protruding from the Arrancar's shoulder. Something was bothering her. The flames had disappeared, but they had to go somewhere, you couldn't just erase the head captain's flames.

As he destroyed the hollow, leaving nothing but the head behind, it clicked. As if to reinforce what she'd just realized, Aizen explained how the flames had been devoured by the Arrancar, the pillars and the flame prison he'd made at the beginning of the fight. She could see the head captain had realized what it meant for the hollow to be defeated and rushed towards it as fast as he could.

"He's not going to make it in time. I have to do something!" Yukiko thought, trying to figure out how to protect the surrounding people from the impending explosion. But there was no way she'd have the strength to stop the power of someone as powerful as Yamamoto.

"There is. We've been working on it for months. Now's the time to put it to use." Soyokaze's voice filled her mind as she watched almost in slow motion the head captain rush the Arrancar who was beginning to expand.

"You mean...bankai. But we still can't hold it for long and our control isn't great."

"I know, but all we need is one attack. What do you think will happen if we can him Aizen directly with that blast?"

Yukiko's eyes went wide and she tightened her hold on her blade. Making up her mind, she crossed her fans in front of her and allowed her energy to explode out from her, wrapping her in a cocoon of wind. "Bankai." The cocoon vanished, revealing her floating with a pair of pure white wings. "Amatsukaze."

Just as she emerged, the hollow burst, releasing a massive wave of flames. Yukiko took a deep breath and her wings flapped, drawing in large amounts of wind from all around and compressing them into a ball. At the same time the expanding flames slowly began shrinking. The larger the ball of energy grew, the smaller the flames became, until there was nothing left.

By this point, Yukiko was straining to maintain the energy she'd gathered and pointed it toward the traitorous captain. The ball of wind energy shot toward him, growing larger as it traveled and striking him. Upon impact, an explosion of wind expanded outward, blocking him from view.

"Good shot! I believe we may have finally bested him."

"Don't get too excited, Amatsukaze. Aizen's been able to defeat every captain that's come up against him. It would be stupid to think that one attack did anything." While Yukiko chatted with her sword, she glanced around herself until she spotted Ichigo standing not to far away, completely unharmed. "Well, at least we managed to keep anyone else from getting burned."

"That was an impressive attack." Yukiko froze as the voice sounded from her side. She could see in her peripheral a white uniform and knew she was in trouble. "Are you looking for further punishment, Yukiko?"

As his words crashed over her, she suddenly felt like her body was being stabbed over and over again. She could feel the fear creeping into her mind, making her want to curl up to protect herself from any more pain. However, the images in her mind of the Vizard she cared for and the three shop owners, helped push it to the back of her mind, though it still lingered. Using it, she did bend forward, holding her head and began moan and mutter in fright. She could hear Ichigo calling out to her and used the use of her name to keep herself anchored while continuing her charade. When she felt she'd drawn him close enough, she suddenly lifted her wings, causing several jets of compressed wind to fly toward him.

"Do you really think I would have risked coming here if I couldn't keep from falling to you?" she taunted, leaping far away from him. She could see where his outfit had been torn by her attack. Which one though, she was unsure. However, the torn cloth allowed her to see where she had been able to reach him and cut into his skin, as shallow as they seemed. Actually, now that she took a second to look, it seemed as if his wounds were closed, like he wasn't bleeding at all. What was going on?

"Yukiko, we do not have much time left in this form," Amatsukaze said, her pure white wings glistening in the soul reaper's mind. "We must end it now."

Yukiko inwardly swore and leapt to the side when Aizen brought his sword down on her. Her wings blocked each attack, but only just. The weight behind his blows kept pushing her back and she felt the fear pressing in. She wasn't strong enough, wasn't skilled enough, Aizen was going to win again. Her time in bankai was running out, and she couldn't get a single shot in. What was she supposed to do?

Suddenly, Aizen was able to knock one of her wings aside and brought his sword across her chest. She felt the sting of her flesh splitting at the contact and shouted in pain, followed by the sensation of her energy fading. Her wings vanished, turning back into her blade in one hand. Then Aizen caught her by the shoulder and held her tightly in place as he slowly moved his blade toward her.

With her energy spent, she could do nothing as she felt his blade slowly begin to slide into her chest. "I had intended to use you against these worthless soul reapers," he murmured. "However, you were able to overcome 100 years of conditioning. What a waste. Oh well, I suppose this just means you'll pass before any of your friends."

As he spoke, his blade moved forward, dragging a shout of pain from Yukiko. It separated flesh, causing warm blood to drip down her front, then muscle, and finally reached the bone. Even her bones could do nothing to restrict the movement of the blade as it continued moving forward. Then it reached her lung and she coughed, blood filling her mouth and sliding down her chin. This was it, she was going to die.

A single tear fell from her fading eyes as a though flitted through her mind. "Sorry, Kensei."

* * *

Shippoman: Nothing's working, not even Yukiko's bankai was able to do anything to change the tide of the war. Now she's fading and Kensei's unable to do anything to save her. Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out how this all ends. The next chapter may end up being the last...or there may be one more. But either way, please remember to R&R.

Edit: Added a pole to my profile. Please use it to tell me if I should continue the story after the fight with Aizen or not.


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